Green Bean Moments

Last week, I had the pleasure of bringing an absolutely delightful high school junior her favorite lunch meal. As we chatted about all sorts of things in the conference room, her principal popped by and said hello. When he asked her what we were up to, without missing a beat she said, “Just girl talk!” We got a big kick out of that.

At any rate, he stayed for a moment, and the student explained what a great year she was having and how much she appreciates the atmosphere the administrators have created in the building this school year. He went on to say, “Awe, well that’s my green bean moment of the day!”

Green bean moment? We had to know more. Essentially, one of the assistant principals had been out on maternity leave and when she came back, her team took turns leaving snacks on her desk every day as a way to extend care during a transition that can be challenging. One day instead of a snack, she found a can of green beans on her desk. I honestly don’t remember hearing why a fellow AP left green beans, but she and the entire team got a big kick out of this.

Now, at the end of every day, they text each other to ask for their “green bean moments.” Something good from the day that was a bright spot.

Ayla and I were so taken with this story. As I walked her to class, she said something along the lines of, “I’m so glad I got to hear that story. I love knowing how they take care of each other.”

This reminded me of something I wrote about in Legacy of Learning. Our students don’t just notice how we treat them or how we treat other students. They learn from how we treat each other too. Whether we realize it or not, we are modeling what it means to be an adult. We serve as examples for our profession too. We have an opportunity to show others how meaningful and FUN these jobs can be. It’s not that we won’t talk about hard things too but if that’s all we talk about, that becomes the only way we and others will experience education.

And I just have to wonder if perhaps more green bean moments are exactly what we all need right now.