At the airport ready to board. Beyond words grateful for this amazing opportunity. Happy to be in a school where the very work I love to do is exactly what I get to do. These adventures are not about me. I’m not chasing a title or a keynote contract, I’m chasing the chance to make learning right for the kids in classrooms all over who are waiting to be rescued. “They’ll be fine,” you may think to yourself. But being fine is not okay. They contain dreams, hopes, and ideas that need to be released because THAT is the very thing that is going to benefit us all, especially that kid. So maybe the daily grind of separate subjects and assessments and all of it works for some kids. But that’s a big risky maybe to play with. But maybe there is something better for many kids. Something that will help ALL kids feel a part of school, a part of community, a part of the world we need them to be ready to change. These people I met this week, inventing the future right before our eyes? We need them. Education and industry, teachers and inventors, we need each other. Teachers in private schools, teachers in public schools, teachers who homeschool. We all need each other. Our country was built on the freedom and the idea that everyone brings their talents to the table and we build, together.
I often wonder what path will help me make the most change, the fastest. And maybe that’s been the wrong question all along. Should I take that book offer? Should I sign on for that keynote? Should I go to that conference? I’ve been asking the wrong questions.
What can I do today to make learning better for the kids and teachers right in front of me and how can I share it so that, just maybe, I’ll help others who lack the resources, who dream of more, and who need help? Today. Not next week, not next year. Because being IN it? That’s the most important thing. Whether I’m in the White House (pinch me, right?) or in my classroom, blogging to clear my head, or in a waiting room answering an email for a teacher asking for help. In it.
And all I can say is I’m all in. Not for me, but for the 8 year old staring at worksheets trying hard to be “fine” but screaming on the inside. And I don’t even know exactly what tomorrow looks like. But that’s okay. Today I’m asking the right question.
