A two week Spring Break provided a good excuse to go see how my daughter was doing in Spain. I spent a big chunk of time en route, in the Newark Airport. Innovation is alive and well and celebrated in Newark Airport. All the restaurants had iPad menues where you placed your order and paid before you ever saw your server or the food. #MakeThingsBetter was advertised widely and aimed to popularize the notion that the energy industry is committed to better energy in the oil, natural gas and solar energy sectors. “Innovation brewing everywhere”.
In Spain, Antoni Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia speaks to the quest to innovate, that has existed throughout history. Gaudi started work in 1884 on this “modern cathedral”, knowing that he would never see it completed but with the quest to work out the architectural challenges he had been wrestling with throughout his lifetime. The innovation is celebrated inside and outside of Spain and funded largely by the Catholic community and the tourists who flock to stare in awe at the magnificence.
The quest to innovate is alive in every area of life. The Michelin star chefs strive to create the most delectable pintxos for the Spanish and tourists to enjoy on a nightly basis. It is well worth the quest to have a glass of wine and the house “pintxo” specialty and then move on to the next spot. The quest to innovate feeds the Michelin star chef and the quest to discover “perfection in two bites” feeds the consumer. Medical science has cured the cancer that took Terry Fox’s life. Planes can travel at speeds that break the sound barrier.
Innovation is wholeheartedly embraced in education by some educators and students alike. The potential of doing something better captures many imaginations. They say that change is difficult because in schools because people walk into the classroom and proceed to teach exactly as they were taught as children. Yet, there are also those educators who do not want to replicate their own experiences, see the spark of enthusiasm or the blind faith in success in their students’ eyes. That keeps the momentum moving towards the potential for something more or something better in our schools. Social media allows people of like mind to connect and inspire the ability to move forward. Jordan Tinney and George Couros are two of those people who engage online and provide the inspiration to consider the rationale and potential pathways for reaching towards new possibilities with technology. I’m thrilled to be able to continue the conversation in person at the next PDK dinner meeting on April 22, 2015 at the Arbutus Club in Vancouver.
Stay tuned to #pdkedchat on April 22nd to participate in the Twitter conversation.
Inquire2Empower 