It’s been a while since I’ve posted here. I’ve been busy getting things done, travelling for work and working on my master plan. But, if I’m honest a friend from college has motivated me to start blogging again (Tolu-make sure you check out her blog). I fell off but want to get back on!
I’m currently sat on a plane to Sweden where I’ll attend the Google Innovator Academy. I finally plucked up the courage to apply after mulling over it for a few months. I was recommended by someone last year to apply for the New York cohort but didn’t feel ready and the cost would be too much. Then this year there was a London cohort (right on my doorstep) but yet I still didn’t feel it was the right time and was worried three days out of work would be an issue. I let every excuse keep me from applying and left myself in limbo.
After some deep reflection, I knew the honest reason I hadn’t applied is that I didn’t want to fail and thought that somehow I wasn’t good enough to be a part of it. So even when everyone in my Personal Learning Network encouraged me to I didn’t. Imposter syndrome can be so debilitating.
I was also worried about how my body would hold up for three intense days. Would it let me down again, as it has on so many occasions? It’s hard to do things when you don’t trust your body but I guess it’s not impossible.
I regretted not applying for the London cohort, while it was on I felt irritated I was missing out. I should have been there learning new things and growing. I felt a bit daft that I’d not committed to my promise several years ago to live without regrets.
Enough was enough and I finally decided to apply to the Sweden Innovator Academy. The application itself was quite a lengthy one. You have to identify a challenge that you would like to solve in education, interview a few students or teachers affected by the challenge, film a 60-second video about that challenge and why you want to solve it. After a stern talking to myself I completed it on time and a few weeks later learnt I was accepted.
As I am passionate about giving back to others and improving social mobility, I decided on the following: How might we ensure mentoring of disengaged students is consistent and effective? Keep posted to find out how I solve this challenge.
