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29 November 2004: Is Anyone Listening? (1 of 2)
I don’t want to make anyone defensive, but has anyone ever noticed that teachers are often unaware of the moment when they lose their listening audience—even in their personal lives? I am a verbal processor. I have experienced various degrees of success in monitoring and responding to the attention of my friends and family, because when they quit listening, I can’t manage them the way I manage my kids. But my experience has been that many, many teachers talk and talk, seeming to be ignorant of the glassy-eyed stare that is their audience. Of course, there is some camaraderie between teachers that allows for this, to a point. No one in my experience is more patient about listening to me vent about a student, or work through a lesson plan than my colleagues. They listen to me, or at least act like they’re listening, because they know that I will reciprocate in their time of need. Plus, they know that I’ll be there to listen, as long as their time of need is before June 11.
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