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The Turning...



The school year is well under way.  September closes its door and October brings in the rains and wind, the cooling temperatures, and the colors that dance before our sights and change before we can get a glimpse of them.  We begin, in the classroom, to settle into our routines, find our rhythms, and start relaxing.  We allow our true selves to be known, little by little.  The personalities of each shines through just like the colors of the changing autumn leaves...


We know why the leaves change colors.  The temperatures begin to dip and the production of chlorophyll decreases. With the drop in chlorophyll production, the green color we have grown accustomed to over the past few months begins to disappear, and the other colors of the spectrum shine through.  These other colors, however, unveil themselves at slightly different times and in different tones for each individual leaf.  Each one is unique and beautiful when looked upon in your hand.  When they are still on the trees, however, and viewed from a distance, the spattering of colors and brilliance therein paints a picture on our minds that dazzles the brain, creating a comforting, relaxed atmosphere.  


Kids are the same way in a classroom right about this time.  What is lost for the leaf is chlorophyll; what is lost for the student is the sense of the "unknown" they feel as they walked into the classroom one month ago.  The leaf, as the green color fades, somehow shows us its true colors underneath. Students begin this process as well.  All the leaves may have the same colors within them but in varying degrees...so it is with our kids.  Their personalities encompass the spectrum of human personalities but it varies from one to the next.  The truth about the way their minds work, the humor they appreciate, the needs they have, and the pleasures they seek.  The glimpses of how they solve problems, what they gravitate toward, and what it means to be a friend are shared.  Their personalities are coming forth, just as the leaves on the trees are changing---and it's all done in concert. 


With every Fall, I know what to expect from Mother Nature; yet within that expectation I am entranced in the beauty of how different every year is...the same holds true of people.  


Fourth grade is a year of extraordinary changes for kids...embrace the change as you embrace the beauty of the changing trees in autumn.  

Mr. Casten
Sept. 30, 2011
 Copyrighted material of Michael C. Casten

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