I have Bottomless Inspiration

There are days it's hard to get out of bed. Days when I don't feel so motivated. Days when I feel lazy. This happens usually when I don't have enough sleep or when I didn't get a good night's sleep. In the Philippines I hear this question asked a lot, "Para saan ka gumigising?" (Who do you wake up for?). 

Of course, I wake up for my family, but when I need the extra boost I think about my primary work stakeholder, the teachers. Yesterday, I was smiling from ear to ear after a meeting because a consultant praised the event our teacher community is hosting this weekend. He said his friend from an international school told him about it. I told him the recognition should go to all the educators who worked hard to put the program together. 

Through the years I have had the privilege of meeting and befriending passionate teachers across the globe. They are the busiest people, but they still find time to help others learn more. They give their time so selflessly so that others may learn. Just thinking about my teachers inspire me a lot.

Be inspired and learn from the Asia Pacific Google Educator Groups this weekend. They have put together an amazing line-up of learning sessions. You can check out the details here or check out the session list by language -

Bahasa Melayu: https://tinyurl.com/y4lexll7
Bahasa Indonesia: https://tinyurl.com/y438fzw8
日本語: https://tinyurl.com/y263n6mq
中文: https://tinyurl.com/y4ubgbnp
한국어: https://tinyurl.com/y55ahse9
English: https://tinyurl.com/yy6rwon7
Filipino: https://tinyurl.com/y3az6p8z
தமிழ்: https://tinyurl.com/y6xpz2mf
Hindi: https://tinyurl.com/y6ko8r2y
ภาษาไทย: https://tinyurl.com/y4yh2ygf
ગુજરાતી: https://tinyurl.com/y6lsq9q4

Congratulations #GEGapac for an amazing initiative!

#CB//241 #StuckAtHomeDay/271 #StayHome #BeKind   

Why I Do, What I Do for Teachers

 My work in the last 14 years has always involved communities. Managing communities just came to me naturally. It started because there were some things that were beyond my comprehension and I needed help to help others. Luckily I found like-minded people who were knowledgeable and were willing to help others learn. Thus was born the GTUGs (later renamed as the GDGs), few years later the GBGs followed and then the teacher community, the GEGs.*

I was just starting to incubate the teacher community when I was given the choice to focus on the developers/entrepreneurs or the educators. At that time developer and business community was already stable, but the teacher community was still an infant. It was an easy choice for me, but I got a pushback from my big boss who thought I'd be better off staying in the larger organization. I would have had an easier path if I chose to take care of the devs and entreps, but I knew I had to keep my commitment for the teachers. 

I stayed on in the education space because I felt that was my mission. From our first educator community in Baguio City we now have hundreds of it across the Globe. The most number are in my region, Asia Pacific. These wonderful educators that form part of our communities have been my strength, my companion in my journey to complete my mission. They have been my allies, my friends, my shoulder to cry on and I can't imagine going through a day without talking to at least one of them. 

My work is hard, but I do what I think is best for the teachers and the students. I'm truly grateful for the opportunity to be able to make an impact for education. Whenever I go through a difficult day I think about my teacher friends who carry the responsibility to educate the future generation. I do what I do to give back to the teachers who made me who I am today. 

Thank you teacher! Happy teachers month!

CB//181 #StuckAtHomeDay/211 #WFH123 #StayHome #BeKind

*GTUG - Google Technology User Groups; GDG - Google Developer Groups; GBG - Google Business Groups; GEG - Google Educator Groups