SparkChampions

In the video titled "Spark: How We Thrive," Peter Bensen describes the power of recognizing, igniting, and feeding the "spark" of children.  The video is just over 20 minutes long, but well worth the time.  Click here to view it.  

In a graduate class I teach, I recently asked students to recollect a teacher/adult who recognized and nurtured their "spark."  My students easily called forth the names and impact of powerful spark champions in their lives.  The testimonials moved me to tears.

Each of us has the opportunity to influence the children in our lives through this relatively simple process.  We can notice what interests them, feed that interest freely and zealously, and relentlessly show that they and their success are important to us.

As the stories of my graduate students indicate, spark champions come in many varieties:  parents, teachers, mentors, coaches, professors, bosses.  

It costs us virtually nothing to be a spark champion.  The gift is freely given, the fruit of the efforts intangible and timeless.

On this day of thanks, I am intensely aware and grateful for the spark champions in my life.