Withitness in the Classroom What is Withitness? A good teacher
is usually great at multitasking. Their mind is able to process
multiple sensory inputs at once—the random sounds in the
classroom, the voices of her students, people walking by her
classroom door—all while conducting a lesson and focusing on the
educational content that needs to be presented. This is a
characteristic that educators refer to as withitness. When a
teacher has withitness, she seems to have x-ray vision. It’s
almost as if the teacher knows what’s going to happen before it
actually does. Withitness encompasses multitasking, classroom
awareness, alertness, intuition, and confidence—all in a way
that projects a powerful image to every student in the
classroom. The teacher is in control. She knows, and because she
knows, the students know that there is no need to act out.
Because she knows, she can stop misconduct with a look. Her body
language and proximity enable her to maintain control
effortlessly. In an article entitled “Are You wit