Silence

I am preternaturally comfortable with silence as a teacher. But remote teaching is challenging me.

I like almost nothing better than the 10-12 seconds of absolute silence that it sometimes requires for students to move past the fight-or-flight reaction to a question, think about it, and come to an answer. (Yes, that can all happen in that small amount of time. And yes, that time feels like an eternity.)

I love to wait and watch my students reason their way out, but remote learning adds so much to that time – a few seconds are added each by the delay, the pause to unmute, and most of all the hope that another students might answer the question. Together, they add up to more time than I’m able to let a question hang.

I’m working to find ways around this challenge while I continue teaching remotely; but I’m also looking forward to letting silence hang when I get back into the classroom.