The Class Whisperer: How I Learned (the Hard Way) to Shut Up and Listen

As teachers, we develop our own toolboxes of signature "moves." While all our toolboxes are different, most of us have a "look," a "tone," an immune system of steel, and a predictable set of rituals and routines.

Recently, all of my tools were put to the test.

Last week, during the second week of administering our annual state standardized test (coincidence?), I fell ill for the first time this school year. The drippy, sneezy, feverish feeling? No sweat—I can teach through that. The minor ringing in my ears? Not a problem—the whining of 6th graders has stretched the limits of my aural sensitivity. And then … laryngitis set in. A teacher's worst nightmare.

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