I wanted to slay the status quo. Meet it in its lair, head on, and fight until only one emerged.

Well, it looks like two cups–large cups–of coffee and staring intently into my computer screen for a half hour aren’t gonna be enough to conjure up a post this morning. Doesn’t happen very often, but it happens. Sometimes, I just don’t know what to write about.

Of course, most mornings–if I am honest, I usually don’t know until I sit down at the keyboard and it comes to me as I reflect on my experiences in and out of the classroom. And most mornings it readily presents itself, but some mornings, I just come up empty. Still, I remain hopeful, even now as I ramble on, I am hopeful that something will find me as I start my third cup of coffee. Come on coffee. Do your magic.

I never planned to write this frequently or this long. I really didn’t know what to expect when I started my blog three years ago. I was just happy I finally started, for I had wanted to do it for some time. And now, especially on a morning like this, I wonder if I can reach my goal of sustaining Project 180 for five years. Do I have another two-and-a-half years in me? I think so. I hope so.

It’s become habit. 668 posts can be habit forming. And as I now daily dive into my habit, I wonder. Am I writing for me? Am I writing for them? If I stopped would it matter? Have I achieved my goals? What are my goals? Am I making a difference? Am I changing education?

See, that’s what I set out to do. Change education. I wanted to slay the status quo. Meet it in its lair, head on, and fight until only one emerged. I have since put down my sword, but I am still fighting. I just use my pen–well, keyboard. I still want to challenge the status quo, for I believe we must and can change education, but I don’t think it’s a single battle won in combat. No, I think it’s going to be a lengthy campaign of discovery. I don’t think we need to change en masse, all at once. Rather, I just think we need to journey forth challenging convention, flirting with discomfort, daring different, and telling our tales.

In the end, that’s what I think I am doing. I am simply sharing my journey. I don’t have the answers, and I don’t want to tell others what they have to do. No, rather, I want them to discover what they can do. And so, each day, I share as I do, as I reflect, and as I try to do better.

Six-hundred, sixty-eight posts later, I am less alone. And for that I am eternally grateful and encouraged. I will continue. I will journey forth. But not alone. I am together. I am connected. I am inspired. I am humbled. Thank you for joining in me in your own discovery to do things not because that’s how they’ve always been done, but because that’s how they can be done to make our kids’ educational experiences more fulfilling. We can do different. We can trust our instincts. And as we do, we will fail, so we can succeed for our kids in our rooms, where it all begins. And as we share our rooms with others, we connect our rooms with others, and from there we change education.

We can change education. I believe that. I really do.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience…

…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.

…demonstrating learning with the final theme performance.

…preparing for Learning Conferences.

…reflecting in our Journey Journals.

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Well, so much for not having anything to write about. I’ll do better tomorrow. Have a great Tuesday, all. Thank you for being my “together.”

Do. Reflect. Do Better.