"Presence" as described in this paper is a quality ofattention, which takes advantage of the space between perception and cognition. Presence "de-condition[s] the 'human mind and spirit/" (Kesson 2000,93) and allows the possibility of seeing others without cultural/personal codes as lenses—the project of thinking gaze differently. As such it is a pragmatic vision immersed in the mundane of daily activity. Presence is mystical and intellectual, but may not be achieved through mysticism or intellectual knowledge. It is the practice of a kind of non-action, a practice of seeing what is happening by listening to what conditioning shunts to the background, what Serres (1995) has called "noise." By the practice of this particular quality of attention, the contemplative leads the imagination into the creation of new modes of meaning making. Presence "is not a belief or opinion, but a practice, [which] when a person has learned it and has practiced it, it becomes grasped and valued" (Helminski 1992,12). This paper explores the experience of presence in the classroom practices of teachers in classrooms from kindergarten to high school.