People with Performing Dispositions are among the most sought after, seen, and wealthy people in our society. They are high profile stars in movie and music industries. Ironically, kids with strong Performing Dispositions are often sitting outside the ice-principal’s office waiting to receive yet another reprimand for smart-mouthing a teacher who has run out of warnings and patience. An audience is what Performing people enjoy most, and they have no hesitation about creating one whenever they can. A classroom of captive, often bored students provides an ideal audience for their antics and shenanigans.

Learning Characteristics
Performing people prefer subjects and activities that are entertaining by nature, have immediate relevance, offer variety and challenge, provide hands-on experiences, and give plenty of opportunity to move, act, do. They learn best when the teaching materials and techniques used are short and to the point, allow movement, and involve games, manipulatives and audiovisuals.

People with Producing Dispositions fill the ranks of business, from secretaries to accountants to management. They strive to keep society organized and efficient. They get things done on schedule and on budget. Often, the more expectations they are trying to meet and fulfill, the greater the challenge and the more fun.

The traditional school system rewards children with Producing Dispositions. Classrooms, for the most part, are arranged for children who are well-practiced or naturally gifted in the Producing skills. Because their lessons are turned in on time, neatly written, with the proper headings and margins, and they don’t mind sitting in on place for long periods of time, children with Producing Dispositions are a joy for teachers to have in class.

Learning Characteristics
Producing people prefer subjects and activities that are structured by nature; have sequential, ordered components; offer routine and drill; and give opportunity to take notes an be organized. They learn best when the teaching materials and techniques used are logical and sequential, allow the use of workbooks, and involve planning, schedule and due dates.

Think of Johann Gutenberg, Thomas Edison, Wilbur and Orville Wright, Madam Curie, Henry Ford, Richard Feynman, and, more recently, Bill Gates. What is that all inventors have in common? Their focus is on their inventions. Nothing matters to them as much as the project they’re working on. Meals don’t matter. Doing chores doesn’t matter. Getting to soccer practice on time doesn’t matter.

As children, these people are very inquisitive and the adults around them are often annoyed at the number of questions they ask. This is the child who is told in class to stop asking so many questions and just listen. Sometimes this child seems to ask questions that have nothing to do with the lesson, which makes matters worse, because the teacher thinks that he is not paying attention. In reality, the child was paying attention, which is what stimulated the questions in the first place, triggering new ideas, and, perhaps earning him the label of ADD. In other cases, adults become exasperated because they don’t know the answers to the questions, and classmates are irritated because they view this child as a nerd or a know-it-all.

Learning Characteristics
Inventing people prefer subjects and activities that are experimental by nature, that provide inspiration and new solutions, and that give opportunities to question, design and discover. They learn best when the teaching materials and techniques used are direct and offer "intellectual" ideas, theories, models, and time for exploration.

Mahatma Gandi, Martin Luther King, and Mother Teresa all had Relating/Inspiring Dispositions. The foundational desire of a person with a Relating/Inspiring Disposition is to create the greatest good for the most people. In their unrelenting need to see that others are treated fairly, they can become an inspiration to schools, communities, and nations.

Children with strong Relating/Inspiring Dispositions are chatty. They often know the latest news and/or gossip. In class, they pass notes and talk when they know they’re supposed to be working. At home, they spend lots of time on the telephone, and sometimes, their need to keep in contact with their friends stresses a household so much that they are given their own phone. They are perceptive and sensitive to the feelings of others and readily offer compassion. They are also sensitive to their own feelings, and their spirits can easily be dashed by friends who want to play with somebody else for a while.

The Thinking/Creating child is often quiet in the classroom. Absorbed in thought, she may be jolted back to classroom activity while the teacher calls on her to answer a question. She might doodle or look out the window with a glazed stare while the teacher is talking. The customary accusation is "You weren’t paying attention." These children usually don’t make waves in the classroom. They are able to entertain themselves for long periods of time and give the impression that they are appropriately busy enough to be left alone. Some are seen as withdrawn or shy. Others enjoy the stimulation of trying out their ideas on the teacher and arguing their point.

Learning Characteristics
Thinking/Creating people prefer subjects and activities that are creative by nature, have artistic or philosophical aspects, offer beauty and aesthetics, provide artistic expression, and give plenty of opportunity to wonder, think, and dream. They learn best when the teaching materials and techniques used allow for time alone and involve arts and/or the creative process.

Once you have determined your child’s disposition, you’ll be prepared to integrate it with his or her talents, interests and modalities. You’ll be able to provide a learning-friendly setting (at least for homework), help your child avoid or deal with potential personality conflicts, and offer the best possible motivators. And just as important, you’ll be giving your child the acknowledgement and acceptance that is a basic human need.