Can you hear me?

I've spent my mornings teaching writing and the afternoons coaching, and I've come to observe a similar phenomenon.

Talk talk talk and the kids slump, stick their feet out, gaze at some point behind me. For the young writers, it's the window. For the gymnasts, it's the pit.

"What did I just say?" I say.

They repeat it verbatim without making eye contact.

Maybe it's a specific task. Or maybe it's one of those talks about hard work and diligence, about attitude. The kind of talks where the kids give you an attitude without saying a word or showing that they're paying attention.

Yet the next day, or the next event, or the next writing task, it's these kids who have snapped in. They ask, "Can I try one more time?" when you tell them to get a drink. They bust out a poem when you think they've fallen asleep.

It all sinks in.