Canning is about having your mind on the future.
The blueberries tasted great today, but in February, I’ll be so glad that I turned them into jam instead of eating them fresh. I took the peak summer flavors and turned them into something that can improve my day when it’s cold and gray outside.
Teaching is a little like that. The work we do – filling our students with knowledge, ethics, ideas about the future, hopes and dreams – is like taking the beauty that’s around us now and sending some of it forward to make the future better.
In a world increasingly focused on right now, there could be nothing more noble than having your mind on the future.