I was talking with a colleague the other day and she said,

“When I’m working harder than my kids are, something is wrong!”

Wow!  A simple, but profound statement, seems to me.  I wish she’d said this to me 19 years ago; I could have added it to my mental alarm list.  I know I need to find a new tack when:

• I see fidgeting
• I hear whispering
• Eyes avoid contact with mine
• Hands are in the wrong places
• Confused looks surround me
• Stormy looks loom on the horizon
• Glazed eyes roam the ceiling
• Answers are far off the mark
• I feel my stomach clinch
• I notice my sweat glands are working
• AND I’M WORKING HARDER THAN MY STUDENTS!

Actually I think this may be the only alarm I need to have, because whenever I see fidgeting, hear whispering, miss eye contact,  find hands in the wrong places, am surrounded by confused looks and stormy expressions, can’t find what’s so interesting on the ceiling, survey a bevy of incorrect responses, my stomach clenches and my hands sweat, then I AM ALREADY WORKING HARDER THAN MY STUDENTS!

Sorry, kids, for being so dense.

Thanks, MS.  You are a wonderful, insightful teacher!

And thank God for colleagues who can teach us new things till the day we die.