On October 1, autumn suddenly appeared accompanied by gray skies, cold winds, and light rain. I was off to an Island in Puget Sound for a retreat with a small group of people who will meet once each season to share ideas, discuss, reflect, and plan. We met in a hundred year-old, remodeled farm house surrounded by a hundred acres of forest and meadows, and there we began by contemplating Fall. And leaves fall Leaving limbs to go dormant, But not losing life. The leaves had to fall To let that happen.
New life comes from that letting go Opening new possibilities for spring.
All of us involved in education think of fall as the beginning of a new year, and we arrive at our places of teaching and learning filled with new possibilities for our students. Even though I am no longer in a classroom, I still carry that feeling. We continue to add new possibilities in our virtual Building that we hope will be useful resources for you - and we're not going to wait until spring for them to take shape. The most exciting addition is our new ExpandHorizons space for on-line courses, conferences, seminars, and dialogue. I will be on-line the first week of every month beginning in November with a new topic to discuss with anyone who would like to participate.