Roses are among the most beloved flowers in the world. Their vibrant colors, delicate petals, and signature scent have made them a symbol of love, beauty, and even sorrow across cultures. But despite their beauty, roses are also fleeting. Their short lifespan forces us to admire them in the moment, to appreciate their presence while it lasts.

Teaching, in many ways, is much like the life of a rose.

This week, I spent a few hours in the beautiful atmosphere at the Butchart Gardens in Victoria, B.C. with my sister and young son. We love spending time here each month and were waiting for the perfect evening to visit the rose garden. Even though we timed it rather perfectly to see most of the roses in bloom, there were a few varieties that were already fading. Their petals were browned and their heads were facing the ground.

In a classroom, moments bloom and fade quickly. A student’s spark of understanding, a conversation that shifts a perspective, a breakthrough in confidence: these are precious, ephemeral experiences. Like roses, they do not last forever. But their impact can linger long after the petals fall.

Seeing some of my most memorable students walk across the stage to graduate this month reminded me how quickly time passes. Teaching is a profession of impermanence. Students come and go. Curriculums change. Even we, as teachers, grow and change. But within that impermanence is extraordinary potential: to shape, to encourage, to ignite something lasting.

We do not mourn a rose for fading. We cherish it for blooming, and we should not measure our work as educators only by what remains in plain sight. The love of learning, the self-belief, the resilience, these may outlast any test score or essay grade.

So if you ever feel like your work is short lived, remember the rose. Beauty can be brief and still deeply meaningful. Your teaching, your presence, matters more than you know. No matter what your role in the classroom is, even if it only lasts a moment. Sometimes, that moment is all it takes to change a life.

Photo by Kylie Van Eaton.