We had a bit of a professional development tie-dye frenzy today. As teachers, we pride ourselves on thematic beginnings. Thus, our theme for this year is in honor of a donut chain in Pittsburgh entitled Peace Love and Little Donuts. We entitled our theme for this year "Peace. Power & Positivity."

Ironically, I have been quite obsessed over color and color hues and combination of colors and how vibrant colors are or the effect one gets from more subdued colors. My grandmother, who has a very difficult time seeing these days, always remarks upon the fact that she wishes she could see more colors in the world.

And so the combination of tie-dye and donuts on the surface level tells us to have a peaceful and quite colorful year. But if you think about the tiny donuts that are sold at this particular establishment, you will notice that no two donuts look even remotely identical. Sure, there are donuts that are less decorated than others, but the color still remains though perhaps less developed than the ones entitled "gourmet."

As outsiders, many individuals think that if we have been teaching the same grade level for a number of years, our box of donuts is the same. We teach the same thing. We have the same rules. We create the same vibe. But for those of us in the profession, we know that though the grade may stay constant, the vibe is always changing and the content and the lessons chosen and the students and the personalities and the teachable moments and the life lessons and so those donuts remind me the birthday candles on a cake that stand for each year. It's like every year we earn ourselves another donut to add to our box. And the design and the taste and the color hue are always different. Because every year is unlike any other. The most variety always exists in the places we misinterpret as remainging "status-quo." One sprinkle can drastically change the vibe of a donut and the vibe of a year.