Seasonal Transitions

By Marc Cobb
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The changing of seasons has long been a reliable marker of time. Early humans used the unwavering journey of the sun to track the hours into days — and then the days to track the sometimes subtle, often blatant transitions between seasons. In modern times, we find our calendars themed to match the seasonal catchphrases and we each look forward to our own favorite time of year.

Back to School
For teachers, back to school was its own season. It is filled with eager lesson planning and engagement with students, colleagues and parents. The children settle into their refreshed classrooms, and before we realize it, life begins to hum along straight into autumn. It can be easy to let each day flow quickly into the next. Often, it’s the students who end up reminding me one day later in fall that the colors are changing, balance has been achieved and the community has reached a calm pace of ease and independence.

Winter Break
Now, as we approach Winter Break, life is busy inside and out of the classroom. Students and teachers alike participate in the balancing act of finishing school projects, attending holiday events and more, as the days move ever more swiftly. Before we can blink, it seems the holidays arrive on our horizons and move past just as quickly. Finally, when we all return from break in January, it can sometimes feel like the break was over before it began, making those first months of the new year feel like they will stretch out ahead forever. In the past, I’ve personally noticed that it can be hard returning to school, finding it hard to get motivated while waiting for the days to get longer, and the light to return.

Opportunity for Change
This year, though, I plan to approach the early months of the new year with a renewed sense of hope and opportunity. If Fall was a time to harvest knowledge, winter after the holidays can become a time to reflect on experiences from the previous year. It is a chance to ask, what awaits me in the coming months? What have I learned and how can I apply that learning to the rest of the school year? How might new connections inspire the present environment? Regardless of what your needs and interests may be, perhaps you too will choose to embrace creativity amidst the chaos of new changes. For though fall may bring the vibration of newness, it is my hope that Winter brings us all a chance for peaceful reflection and the gifts of peace and quiet contemplation.

​Have a wonderful break, we can’t wait to see you in 2020.
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Marc Cobb is the Middle School Program Director/Lead Teacher in our Middle School Program. You can reach him here.

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