Did that really happen?

You know that feeling when you wake up from a dream and can’t determine if was real or not. That feeling of “Wait a minute, did that really happen?” As cliche as that sounds, I think that is how I feel right now.

My mind is reeling after so much effort paid off and I’m sitting on a somewhat bumpy bus leaving San Jose, California and moving on. I just spent two days at the Googleplex in Mountain View learning with amazing individuals from around the world. I heard the passion, I felt the understanding amongst us, it was surreal to say the least.

Yet as quickly as it came upon us it also rapidly came to an end. The high we were all on hearing similar stories from schools around Canada, the US and Mexico sizzled as it’s the day after saying goodbye and our brains are reeling from the nonstop energy.

I’m honestly dreading the question, “So what’d you learn?” which I know that I’ll hear ASAP. It’s one of those answers that I can’t quite put into words (hence the wordiness in this attempt at a post.). My head needs some time to process not only the information but more importantly the responsibility and motivation needed to make a difference.

How can I help the professional development that is lacking at so many schools? How can I stay current and include coding in what I’m doing at school? How can gamification change my game plan in social studies? How can different mapping tools empower students to embrace their learning? How can I be an ambassador of change in my school and more so in Mexico where there is so much opportunity for growth?

I understand that I don’t need all the answers right now. The awesome thing is that I can now count on an international cohort to make sure this wasn’t all a dream. This is just the beginning of something bigger than my questions and curiosity.

I’m not alone in the fight. There’s a team of us swimming upstream and dreaming big. We may feel like small fish at our schools or in our districts but we need to “just keep swimming.” (thanks Dory for the reminder). This can be real and doesn’t need to be a dream. It did happen and more can happen when we stick together.