"Reader, say something smart. Right now. Share a deep insight or a subtle point. Quick. No? OK (with obvious disappointment), I'll come back to you later. Anybody else?" We've all experienced this in school, the author notes--the teacher giving up, concluding that we weren't going to say something smart in the allotted time. The fact is, smart things will pop into students' minds--if teachers give the students time to think. And that means getting comfortable with silence. As 20 teachers observe in a 3rd grade classroom, the author offers Adyana, a 9-year-old English language learner, all the time she needs to respond. The adults, mostly, are uncomfortable with the silence, but they find that it's well worth the wait. Adyana moves from a superficial retelling of the story into great insights. "Was it hard to wait?" asks one of the observing teachers. "No," replies Adyana, "I just had to wait until my brain decided what I wanted to say." The author offers tips to help teachers hold their tongues and make silence and taking time to think a part of the learning process. of quick, superficial responses.