Examining.

When I didn't think they would think I was looking, I watched each of my twenty-one students in turn--the tilted profile there, the furrowed brow here, the stretching, the rubbing of a neck, the looking toward the ceiling to see if another textual detail was stuck in one of the tiles. Somehow, they seemed stronger and lovelier than ever before, sitting there in our classroom for the last time. And as I start marking their blue books, I find just how much stronger and lovelier they were than I had any idea, even though I was right there in the room with them. Tell me, I said. Here, they replied. I hope they were able to tell just how much I wanted them to feel confident and do well.