Reading this wonderful ethnography, First Year Out, and I’m struck by how surprised the author is by the student’s willingness to share their lives and world views with him.

My experience is that high school and college students are desperate for an adult to ask about their ideas, that they’re desperate for a chance to integrate their own ideas with the coursework. Some, perhaps even most, arrive ready to do so, but within a few weeks, it’s back to business as usual.

Every teacher has experienced the sudden electricity when every student in the room is thoroughly engaged. Unfortunately, it usually occurs by accident, when a student or the teacher somehow trips an invisible switch; only the most skilled practitioners can create this sort of engagement on purpose.