Carrot, Egg, or Coffee Bean?
Recently, I have noticed that as I am preparing to checkout from various stores, the cashiers will ask if I am military or a first responder. Being me, the self declared female dad joke queen, I often quip, “No, I am an educator. Same idea though.” I get the same response every single time. And that response is acknowledgement that what we do is a tough gig. And, as we know, it gets tougher all the time. The most recent challenge being teacher shortages and no shortage of work to be done. So, I have struggled with how we keep gas in the tank. How do we navigate the challenges of teaching when there is so much more coming from the outside that drains us?
This summer I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to attend a conference where Jon Gordon was the keynote speaker. I have a few of his books and enjoy much of what he has to say. He relayed an illustration that I had never heard before, but I am certain some of you have. He spoke about the carrot, the egg, and the coffee bean. He asked those present about what happens when you put a carrot in boiling hot water. After a pause, he answered; it softens. Then, he asked and what about when you put an egg in boiling hot water. He answered; it hardens. He then explained that the world around us can harden us like the egg, or it can weaken us and make us anxious like the carrot. He explained that in both of these cases it leaves us feeling isolated. He added that the Greek root for the word “anxious” actually means to separate and divide.
In thinking about this, I recognized that oftentimes that is exactly how we feel in education. Isolated in our work and divided from one another. Like we are having to face each day all alone. It is easy to give-in to this feeling and not remember that we do have a team around us who will support us in our challenges and encourage us when we are low.
His challenge was for us to recognize our support system and to be that support when needed. He added because if we navigate our challenges that way, we will face each day as a coffee bean. Then, he asked about what happens when the coffee bean is added to boiling hot water. His answer, of course, was it makes coffee. Instead of the bean being transformed, the bean transforms the water. We no longer even recognize it as water. It is something brand new. He went on to explain that every day we have the opportunity to be like the carrot, the egg, or the coffee bean. We can allow our environment to shape us: break us or harden us. Or, we can transform our environment. But, to do this consistently, we must choose to do this as a team. To face the outside world from the inside out.
So, in a time where we all recognize just how tough the job can be, remember together we can be the coffee bean.