It’s that time of year again. In the northern hemisphere, we’re in the sprung part of spring and students across the board can see the end in sight. University students are on their home stretch to finals, educators who’ve taught forever are preparing their retirement parties, and the ‘what will I do after graduation’ decision is upon us. 

What I couldn’t articulate in my early career track as a teacher was that whenever I observed environments where students of color were present, I noticed the ways that implicit bias may have been at play in their learning and school environments. For instance, bias is obvious to me in school hallways in which children are walking single file, with bubbles in their mouths, to prevent them from talking to each other. This ill-advised classroom management strategy asks kids to close their lips and puff their cheeks, as if they are holding a bubble.

Change. It is a constant; at times welcome, at times resisted, at times unnoticed until much later.

Wherever you find yourself in the world at this moment, you know the effects of change, in politics, in personal life, in climate and nature, and in many other spheres.

Music to offer you varied perspectives as you live through and think about change:

It’s summer. The season of sandy feet, sun-kissed cheeks, and firepit chats that go on till dawn has returned. While the world is still in chaos and a global pandemic is still afoot, school’s out, camp’s in session, and children everywhere are in summer mode. 

It’s that time where everything is flooded with sunlight, fireflies dance amidst the sky, ice cream is a daily meal, dreams are big, possibilities are endless, and imaginations run wild. 

Summer's end, autumn's beginning, shifting times global and local, time to reflect wherever you may find yourself and in whatever season.

As ever, changes and choices are in the wind.

It continues to be a time of ups and down, of change and shifting times. There's the promise of spring, or of autumn, depending on your place on the globe. Seasons of change in nature and seasons of change in all other aspects of life, as well.

2021 is officially well underway. Vaccines are finding their way into the arms of awaiting humans to hopefully help bring this global pandemic to a close. 

Students and teachers are finding new ways to navigate the world of digital learning and are hopeful that those who want to attend in person classes will be able to do so perhaps even prior to the next school year. 

You stumble through your days, got your head hung low
Your skies’ a shade of grey, like a zombie in a maze, you’re asleep inside, but you can shake away
‘Cause you’re just a dead man walking, that’s your only option, but you can flip the switch and brighten up your darkest day.
Sun is up and the color’s blinding, take the world and redefine it
Leave behind your narrow mind, you'll never be the same

It’s officially the beginning of the end of 2020. December is upon us, and, thanks to the incredible efforts of the scientific community, there’s now a light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel. Vaccines and therapies are showing good numbers, and there’s hope that within the next 6 months, we’re far closer to a more normal, normal than we’ve been in a long time. Hope...it does wonders for the soul. I have hope for hugs in the near future.

“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance” - Eckhart Tolle