Looking for an Opening

One of my favorite parts of summer is having the time to take longer walks in the morning.  As I walk, I listen to my iPod and today a Montgomery Gentry song "Something to be Proud Of" came on that I have probably heard this song a 100 times, but today I heard these lines differently:

There's a story that my daddy tells religiously
Like clockwork every time he sees an opening
In a conversation about the way things used to be
Well I'd just roll my eyes and make a bee-line for the door
But I'd always wind up starry-eyed, cross-legged on the floor
Hanging on to every word
Man, the things I heard

And I started reflecting on my classroom as I was walking,  do I take advantage when I see an opening for a conversation or a quick mini lesson to clear up confusion?  Or am I so set on my lesson plans to get through them that I just keep on teaching.  I personally think I am better with the openings in the fall and even probably until Spring Break but once I get back and the TEST gets into my thinking I loose the openings.  There is nothing better than after a conference and you hear a student tell their peer about a strategy that helped them or a new book title that I just shared. 

On the other side, I wonder how many times when I am teaching do my students roll their eyes and wish they could make a bee line towards the door.  I am currently reading Making Learning Whole by David Perkins and I am entranced with the thinking.  He relates education to baseball connecting backyard ball ( the junior version) to the whole game (9 innings).  I am only 5 chapters into the book but WOW the idea of pushing students towards the three overreaching themes:  enlightenment, empowerment and responsibility are concepts that I am really focused on right now.  As the summer continues, I am going to reflect and think about how I can have my students hang on my every word in the classroom.