Since we all had so much fun discussing personalies, I thought we'd enjoy this article from Deborah Ruf's web site. It is clearly a summary of ideas, so it glosses over some things, but still it seemed helpful.

My favorite line was when she says "One way I suggest for parents to know if their gifted child is an FP is to ask them if these words have ever come out of their mouths: “In the amount of time you’ve argued with me, you could have finished this.” " DS is such an FP!!!

Here is the link http://www.educationaloptions.com/writings.htm Click on "Tips for parents: How Level of Giftedness..."

I look forwars to your thoughts!

Those such words have come out of my mouth at least a thousand times! LOL!!!! My DS is definitely an FP. In fact I think both are, though I haven't had my DS7 take the test yet. I've always said he will be a lawyer because he can argue with anyone about anything at any time. Oh dear, 2 of them!

I going to read the whole article - thanks acs for posting it!

Oh thank you for the link! I got to hear DR speak live last summer, and she used this stuff a lot in her presentation, but I couldn't keep up with my notes. I feel like I have "perfect" notes to digest now, and will comment further once I read them. Thanks!!!

Now that article really let me LOL!!!!

Good article....it gave me all I missed last year. One thing I find really interesting, is that I now believe my very shy reserved daughters are both E personalities....while my more outgoing son is an I. I'm not certain of course, as I'm judging them from their appearances, but it seems somehow backwards. Grinity said something to me on this when we were together last year that I didn't realy understand. Grin? Can you take a crack at it again? She said (I believe) that you can be an introvert in some ways but not others...something like my shy girls who really depend on their friends, compared possibly to my non reserved son who is quite fine being alone. (FWIW, it's great fun to listen to Grinity, but you can't go back and reread that way!)

I also realize after reading this article that DD11 is probably NOT my complete polar opposite (Whew!). I think we actually have 2 letters in common, and it seems all 5 of us share the N. Surprisingly DD13 seems to be my closest match. After I stop to think about it, it makes sense that we "get" each other more than I might at first think. She's always been grouped on her own...DD13 and "the little guys". I have so few "issues" with her.

Interesting...again thanks to Acs for sharing!

Maybe Grin was talking about expending energy vs. generating energy from being with people? I think deep down I am an introvert, as I do need to recharge after being with a crowd. My husband just sees how much I enjoy interacting and calls me an extrovert, but I don't think I truly qualify as one.

I'll have to see the Ruf article. I participated in an online seminar where she had the Myers-Briggs stuff flying, and I had no idea what I was at that point.

Yup. I think about it as where you need to recharge your batteries. Introversion/extroversion has nothing to do with being shy/outgoing. I'm as outgoing as person as you'd ever hope to meet, but I MUST have time away from people to recharge. Being social wears me out. Even a long phone call requires a little while alone so I can regroup.

There are shy extroverts and outgoing introverts. One characteristic really has nothing to do with the other.

Thanks ladies...I think that was where she was coming from. It just caught me by surprise at the time. I'll have to watch my girls more closely. DD11 definitely gets her batteries charged WITH friends, but I'm not totally sure about DD13...she might be more middle of the road like her mother. Shy extroverts and outgoing introverts are confusing enough (for me!), but it also doesn't seem to be an all or nothing thing. I had it waaaaaaay oversimplified in my mind for so many years.

So how do you all know what your kids are? Have you used the MMTIC as recommended? Or are you just guessing?

I'm eyeing it for my DS6. I wish I could give it to my DS3 more, though. He 's the one I have trouble figuring out.

I guess we wait until 2nd grade...

BTW, This was totally me in school:



I read that and thought, "Pow! She nailed me on the head!"

Kriston - I just did the link posted on here by someone to determine what my DS10 is. It is aimed at adults though so I'm not sure it would apply too much to a 3 year old. But you could look at see what you think.

Kriston- that quote nailed me too! It's crazy how on the mark these things can be.

Yep! That one was like she was in my head. Remember my universal hall pass back in 12th grade? I love special priviliges and that one made all those years of sucking up worth while!

I forgot you had that acs!!! LOL!!! That definitely made it all worth while I am sure. I never had such a hall pass (sadly) but teachers did love me and I got to do whatever I wanted to basically too. The article is interesting about the differences between the way girls and boys react. I can see why girls can get overlooked when they are being more cooperative and boys are acting out more. Although my DS does not act out. He just spaces out and lives in his head alot of the time. So maybe it is personality more than gender in some cases??

Yes, ditto that acs. I was all about the privileges.

Plus the stuff near the end of the article about how a girl will run the school as she underachieves, but then she'll hit something she actually has to work at, and she'll feel stupid and question her own worth...that was me, too. I had some "dark nights of the soul" there over that very issue. That one hit me hard, too.

Reasons to watch out even if a kid seems happy! And reasons to be glad that I have a boy who acted out when he was miserable! I'd take that any time, for his sake! Squeaky wheel and all that...

Interesting article, acs. I'm amazed that 92% of the kids Ruf sees are P types. I'm in trouble, I better start a savings account for testing purposes. DD is likely an FP based on that the number of times I've said that phrase ("In the time you've spent arguing...) and other characteristics. DS seems like he's probably a P too.

Here's one of the few ENTPs piping up. I laughed my way through the article too - it's strange to see past experiences so clearly outlined. And I don't know if this was a gender thing too, but I remember sitting in a class, noticing that no one else was raising his/her hand, and thinking "hmmm. i thought this was an easy question. If nobody knows it, i must be wrong. I won't raise my hand either..." This happened all the way through law school! I guess it took having a smart kid to realize that I was one too.