The Inspiration Over Coffee
Currently While Slicing:
eating: avocado w/a fork from the shell
drinking: coffee gone cold
entertained by: Throwback Thursday Spotify playlist.
On workday mornings, the first thing I do before settling into missed emails and the to-do list is make a cup of coffee. Something sweet and caramel to start my day sets a feel-good tone. Little did I know I wouldn’t have needed coffee to do that trick. My colleague Nora walked through the double doors of the Professional Development room that houses my desk and an open space to mix, mingle, communicate, and workshop with others. Wearing a smile and extra skip in her stride, she made her way to my desk area in a way that staff members rarely do at 8:30 in the morning.
“I have to tell you something - you won’t believe what I did today!” Nora said as she clasped her hands together.
I spun my chair towards her and leaned forward. “What did you do!?” I asked with anticipation.
“This morning, after I left the gym, I ordered a drink from Starbucks on their app. It was ready for me when I got there!”
It was not what I expected at all, and I began to sense a possibility here that this was just the beginning of her inspiration. Nora is a toe-dipper when it comes to technology and isn’t one to be the first to jump with two feet in.
“I just needed to do it - and it was easy!” She said. “And it reminded me of what the author said this week that we can’t let the technology hold our students back because we don’t know how to use it. We need to learn how and just do it...!”
The book we are reading with a cohort of staff, The Innovator’s Mindset by George Couros, propelled this awakening in Nora. She found a window to embrace technology for her own purpose and experienced a win.
This win for her transformed into an epic win for her students as she continued.
“That’s why I want my students to teach me about Instagram! We can do this, and I can learn so much from them.”
Stress levels tend to run high at work this time of year - they always have. I sat in my chair, coffee drink untouched, and felt a much needed loss for words. Nora’s breakthrough inspired me and reminded me of why I love to do what I do - to lead and inspire other creative thinkers, and when the inspiration awakens others, I trust in their confidence to innovate. She went on to share with me an article about a school that operated like a business and students were employed with the task to solve problems.
Before we knew it, the passing period bell rang. Nora’s day with students was just getting started. Somewhere among the pages of a book and coffee purchased from an app, Nora let go of the narrative of fear.
“I want to create something like this. Could you imagine?”
“How might we?” I asked.
“How might we!?” Nora responded.
