The elements of inspiration

Inspiration.

This past weekend my son came to me and asked what the word inspiration meant. He continued to ask questions in a rapid-fire sequence, almost as if in urgent need for explanation.
He said:
"What is it? Where does it come from? How do you get it? How do you give it?" Mind you, these are all questions from a 5 year old. After a moment to collect my thoughts I told him; "Well..., inspiration can come from anywhere". This answer seemed to only confuse him even more. So, I went into more detail. so I said; "A smile can be inspiring, watching someone play a sport can be inspiring, seeing someone who is happy can be inspiring..." And the list went on. He said; "But Daddy, what does it do? What does inspiration do?"

The answers to these questions did not come easily to me and after our chat I got to thinking about what inspiration really meant. I often think of inspiration as a feeling. One that cannot be measured, quantified or manifest in a literal way. It is subjective, unique to the individual, but overall excitement and enthusiasm is bread from inspiration. Some are inspired internally. They have a certain "drive" to challenge themselves, to explore and investigate. Some are inspired externally. They get goosebumps from watching their favorite sport, listening to music, watching others actions, reading a book, and so on. Some are fortunate enough to conjure a combination of both.

I hope for my son that he is one of those fortunate enough to build his dreams into reality, to seek inspiration and find it, to never lose the excitement of learning, whether from within or from his surroundings.

I wish for students to be inspired by themselves, to be empowered by the process of discovery. I wish for them the type of outcome that is greater than the "bottom line" of accountability measures or mastery of standards. This is what I hope to inspire in them. This is how they inspire me.