BY SAM WINEBURG Smoking is a habit. Even the most hardened
smoker had to take a first drag, sucking into the lungs a
noxious cloud that scorched the unsuspecting alveoli and
produced an uncontrollable cough. For many people, what began as
a bizarre and exotic behavior becomes second nature, and they
light cigarettes on rising in the morning, pouring a cup of
coffee, relaxing at lunch or unwinding after work. Habits of
mind aren't exactly the same, of course, but there are
similarities. At some point in our lives, each part of the
intellectual process demanded our full concentration. But once
learned (or, more precisely, once mastered), our mental habits
became so automatic that they faded from view. It is that very
point that spells trouble in the classroom. For the same aspects
of cognition that ease our job as thinkers pose the greatest
threat to our effectiveness as teachers. Our familiar mental
habits, often overlooked or omitted when we describe our
thinking processes to others, can create a gulf between