Debriefing Starbucks and John Wooden

Last week I was unable to write my blog and I apologize for that. Last Monday and Tuesday we prepared for our trip to Starbucks by reading an article written by Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. Here it is: http://www.newsweek.com/2011/03/13/how-starbucks-got-its-mojo-back.html
It tells the story of how Mr. Schultz realized that Starbucks was tanking, resumed his position as CEO, and served as a catalyst to help Starbucks right itself again. It is an interesting way to look at and learn about the company, its mission, and its history. We also listened to a radio interview with Howard Schultz by Tavis Smiley. Here it is: http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/tavis/local-tavis-962165.mp3 . The interview starts at about 12:30.

On Tuesday, the Juniors were given the assignment of finding three interesting things from the Starbucks website. Maranda found an iPhone App where you can order your latte and a barista on a scooter will bring it to you! This is only available in the 7 largest US cities, she told us. So I was trying to find this iPhone app so I could show the Seniors during their class. We finally googled it and found this: http://www.starbucks.com/blog/introducing-starbucks-mobile-pour

We scrolled down to the comments at the bottom of this page and figured out that it was an April Fools joke conducted by Starbucks! We were totally punked by Starbucks!!!! Unbelievable. . .

All of the students and staff went to Starbucks Corporate Headquarters last Wednesday. (I couldn’t go because I was going to my nephew’s master’s degree recital in violin performance). The kids learned about where coffee comes from (berries from trees), how to make their own coffee drinks, the history of Starbucks, the careers that exist at Starbucks, how Starbucks likes to give grants to youth-driven programs, and about the logo and brand. They were greeted by Troy Alstead, CFO, who is a fan of Peace Community Center. After that, they went to Red Robin on the Seattle waterfront. They said they learned more than they even realized and enjoyed the field trip completely.

Today, in CLASS we wrote about the following blocks in John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success: self-control, alertness, initiative, and intentness. Self-control means controlling your emotions so you don’t lose control of your common sense and discipline. Alertness means learning from the mistakes and successes of others – just paying attention to what’s going on around you. Initiative means that you keep trying and you don’t let fear of failure stop you. Intentness means you never ever ever give up! (To quote Churchill).

The students wrote some thank you notes to the Starbucks employees who participated in our field trip. The kids told me about the trip, what they learned, what they enjoyed. I’m really happy they had such a great time. Hopefully I will have some photos to post soon!