I had strode down that corridor many times, usually running late, on my way to one classroom or another, but the other day, I saw something which touched me so profoundly and made me really think about the way adults communicate with children. A young boy ran up to his teacher who had stopped in the hallway to speak to another teacher. He walked in between the two women, looked up at them and took their hands. The two teachers continued down the hall with the child in between them. They included him in the conversation, listened to what he had to say and were as intently involved with him as they had been with each other. I was struck by this vignette and continued to observe them because teachers are busy people and I suppose the usual scenario for any of us would have been to say hello and send the child on to his classroom. In this case, the teachers inclined their heads only slightly and continued animated conversation with this seven year-old all the way down that long corridor to their classrooms. Not only were they conversing with him but they were enjoying it-and so was he. The child beamed and soaked up the attention like a dry sponge.

I had the feeling that this was the way these teachers always talked to their students....