In Malcom Gladwell’s 2003 book Blink, he describes how experts can know what they know but not know why they know it.
They experience a flash of recognition or vision of truth—and blink moment—based on years of past experience and know it to be accurate. As teachers we have these blink moments often.
I call it the teacherly sense.
You teach a lesson and know your students don’t really get it.
A student enters your classroom and you know he’s going to misbehave.
A few students are milling around and you know someone is being bullied.
There are many examples. If given time to think, you may be able to identify specific points of evidence to support your conclusions.
But they’re irrelevant in the moment.
By trusting your teacherly sense, you can act. You can stop what is coming before it arrives. You can alter your lesson, remind the student, or protect the bullied.
However, too many teachers are lost in their own thoughts. An oft-repeated saying here at SCM is that great teachers observe. They’re aware of their surroundings. They have their wet finger in the air.
They position themselves to see, to supervise, to anticipate.
You have this same ability, this teacherly sense. It’s a remarkable advantage. The first step to using it is to be an active observer. When you observe, you’re able to . . .
Consistently follow your classroom management plan.
Better learn your students’ strengths and weaknesses.
Match your lessons to precisely what they need.
Through becoming an astute observer you’ll develop your teacherly sense. You’ll fine-tune it and become reliant on it.
The second step is to pause when it hits you. Blink moments happen immediately. If you ignore them or react without thinking, then they’re of no use.
You must pause first. Ascertain what it’s telling you. Then act. The pause can also allow you to take in more information, like when you notice something strange about the way students are milling around.
You don’t have to know why you know it, but you do have to know what you’re seeing and what it means. This comes naturally through observation. It comes naturally through developed experience.
For example, your students enter the room and you can feel their excitability. It’s a blink moment. You’re sure of it and it portends disruptive behavior. So you pause briefly to take it in.
To hone in using your observational powers.
Then you postpone everything and remind, redo, or guide your class through some calming breaths. Crisis averted. Misbehavior eluded.
Now they’re settled and ready for learning.
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