Wrong

Every once in a while, I am thrilled to be wrong. Yesterday was one of those moments.

I have always believed that while you can teach a lot, there are some things you just can't teach--especially when it comes to teaching. I can teach lesson planning, classroom management, and even how to talk to kids. I didn't think I could teach what we call withitness, the ability to see everything and respond to it all at the same time--often without words. It's that teacher presence, the magic good teachers have that makes a room go quiet with a glance and catches the behavior right before it happens.

I have a student teacher that can plan and she can teach. Give her any content, and she works magic. But...she had been missing that teacher magic. We've been chipping away at it, but she still didn't have that presence. So, we worked on it yesterday. We practiced. I taped. We listened. And then...I put her in front of kids.

She started teaching, and the cooperating teacher left the room. I heard the rumble, and then I saw the magic. She stood a little taller, arched an eyebrow, and the room went quiet. She started teaching, and there was a meaningful look towards a boy who was about to dig through his desk. And the kids engaged. They laughed while they learned, and I saw magic--even when three students vomited.

I was so proud...and so wrong...and I couldn't be happier.