DWP #23: WATCH {10.5.17}

As teachers, we are excellent watchers.

We watch our students' body language to see if they understand a lesson. By watching, we can tell if someone is having a good or bad day. We can get insight into their thinking process just by watching how they work a math problem. We watch our students' behaviors so we can stop an outburst before it starts, have a conversation about friendship, or pair up two students who can help each other learn.

As writers, we are excellent watchers.

We watch the world around us, looking for inspiration and material for our next piece of writing. We watch nature change, people in the grocery store, a mother and daughter having lunch. By watching, we add life and interesting particulars to our writing toolbox, the kinds of details that lift our words off the page.

In one of my social media feeds the other day, I saw a post about the senses. The post said more people would rather lose their sense of hearing than their ability to see. I would agree. My ability to see goes beyond just seeing -- it helps me learn, think, anticipate, reflect, absorb, and process.