April 18, 2024
Dear LREI Families,
As I headed out early this morning, I paused to take a quick look at our small Brooklyn backyard, a peaceful space that we are so fortunate to have. I can confirm that we are truly in spring. Budding trees, color, flowers, ants! I love spring. I have also been thinking about the overlap and intersection of the spring holidays and observances – Easter, Ramadan, and Passover, among others – with the eclipse. While there are annual lunar connections for these three events, the occurrence of an eclipse this year makes it all so much more dramatic. I hope those who celebrate Easter and Ramadan found peace and meaning in your gatherings, and I wish the same for all who are observing Passover beginning next week.
The stories and very real feelings regarding Spring as a time of rebirth and life-affirming growth are just so compelling – new life and beauty everywhere. Just look at Little Red Square! So full of vivid colors. It is all so inspiring. This idea of rebirth and renewal, for school people, means a few things. First, the coming of spring is a reminder of the coming of the end of the school year with all of the hard work and hoopla that the culmination of ‘23-’24 requires. The coming of spring, the bursting forth of so much newness reminds school adults that the students who return to us from Spring Break are not the youngsters we welcomed into our classrooms in the fall. They are closer to the grade ahead than they are to the grade behind. They look different and act differently. In some grades, for some children, they are almost unrecognizable.
That said, at least for this teacher, this is a time of the school year with so much going on, that it is tempting to focus on getting things done, not necessarily rebirth and renewal. Where is the time to dream and imagine? If we take a moment and think about the spring and the imagery and celebrations that have grown around it, we know that we have to find time to deal with the day-to-day, some of which can be hard ( April showers, for example) and to look forward to and plan for growth and new (May flowers).
We all, teachers and families, need to work with the students to both work on the day-to-day and to dream of and plan for brighter futures. Maybe these futures are personal – school success, involvement with areas of interest, or addressing a hardship. Planning for a hopeful future might also be more global – focused on peace, safety, or feeding and sheltering those in need. And, for an organization such as a school, the generative nature of spring has us looking towards the future near and far and planning to do better, different, and more. We are actively involved in this conversation, and the momentum of our discussions will only pick up in the coming months.
Please feel free to share your spring hopes and dreams and to keep in touch.
