I travelled 14,862 miles in June, give or take a few miles. I spoke to almost 1,000 people and I was never in a single time zone for more than five days. Now, I am back at home, sipping coffee while the dog tries to carry the new barn cat around the back yard like a puppy.
My wife tells me that I need to slow down and take some time for myself…and she’s right. I have a compulsion (obsession?) to start conversations around tough topics and to always be learning something new. I love going to conferences and sharing flipped learning with people. I love answering questions with questions, much like how I do in my own classroom. I enjoy meeting new people and making new friends. I met some great people between my trip to Moscow, the Flipped Learning conference (use the drop-down menu to navigate to conference videos) and ISTE. And now, I’m back to home life, thinking about my brother-in-law’s wedding coming up and the bike ride across Indiana later this month.
Many of you are in the same situation. Where do we go from here?
I’m going to take a hiatus from the blog for a while. I need to refocus some energy on myself and take some time to relax. I have to tell myself that no, I’m not being selfish…I’m staying healthy. I will still be on Twitter periodically, mostly for the #flipclass chat Monday nights. I need to grab a new notebook (my old one is full) and a pen and begin thinking about the fall. I need to think about the message I share and about what I consume to develop as a teacher. I have some ideas, but they need to develop more before I share them.
For those of you chewing on what you heard at ISTE or in Chicago, I do have one piece of advice: Blaze a trail. A little melodramatic, I know, but you have access to tools and resources to redefine your learning spaces. Rethink what you do in class and work to find creative solutions to obstacles. Lean on the backs of others either in your school or on Twitter. Did we meet at ISTE? Send me a tweet or email and let’s stay connected. I can’t promise I’ll write back immediately, but I will write back. Let’s continue to build relationships and push for change.
As for me, I’ll see you in August.