Silence

I love the feeling of leading a class/discussion section effectively. To me, it usually looks something like this.

Groups of people huddled together. Intense conversations going on. Nodding. Probing questions. A bit of wild gesticulating. Small bits of laughter here and there. And then there's me, being silent. I walk around, listen in, make the occasional suggestion, but the learning and teaching belong to them. I set up the structure and they take off within it.

That, to me, feels like a good day of teaching. And it's what happened today in my section. That, and at 5pm, the end of section, not a person budged from their conversations. That, my friends, is a very good sign.