When someone starts pitching "the way we pitch", I start to feel bored. The language we use when "claiming" knowledge, position, possession or space disappoints me, more and more.
This week, a team of Austrian, Chinese and Iranian industrial engineering and business management students impressed me with their choice of words, as well as their colours and ideas. I had asked them to design and describe the "Feelgood Floor" of our shared learning space.
The team came up with "Library City - the next level of learning. An educational space where no student has been yet". The picture they painted in my head with their words has made me curious. I am keen to experience the ambiance, furniture, and people of Library City. And while it obviously might be to my taste, the students convinced me that they want to learn, live and laugh together with their peers this semester.
Not only do I appreciate their hunger for knowledge, their discipline and wish to improve their practice; I am glad that they have made me realise that while we'll keep cultivating the claiming and pitching culture for a while, we might already be #pastpitch.