Bird Droppings April 2, 2026
I have found a spiritual side to teaching.

“Solitude does not necessarily mean living apart from others; rather, it’s never living apart from one’s self. Not about absence of other people – it is about being fully present to ourselves, whether or not we are with others.” Parker Palmer

Dr. Parker Palmer is an innovator, speaker, retreat leader, author, and traveling teacher. He is a senior associate of the American Association for Higher Education and senior advisor to the Fetzer Institute. Parker Palmer received his Ph.D. from the University of California. I was first introduced to his writing in 2001 by a friend who happened to be my principal at the time. He recommended his book, The Courage to Teach, to me, and I have given away several copies over the years.

“Teachers choose their vocation for reasons of the heart, because they care deeply about their students and their subject. However, the demands of teaching cause too many educators to lose heart. Is it possible to take heart in teaching once more so that we can continue to do what teachers always do – give heart to our students.” Parker Palmer, The Courage to Teach

I have been back in teaching for nearly twenty-five years and have watched teachers burn out and some fizzle out. There is a slight difference between burn and fizzle. Someone who burns out is putting their all into what they do, while someone who fizzles out is taking up space and probably shouldn’t have been there to begin with. I have watched creative teachers, starting as gangbusters, succumb to the teaching blues and boredom. They come in full of zeal and, within a semester, are borrowing premade transparencies from their next-door neighbor because they no longer have the time to create new ones.

“Bad teachers distance themselves from the subject they are teaching – and in the process, from their students. Good teachers join the self, subject, and students in the fabric of life.” Parker Palmer

For many years, I have considered teaching an art form. I do think it is a place where a person’s soul is laid open for better or worse, as you teach whatever subject you happen to be teaching. If you truly want to connect with your students, you open your heart, as Palmer indicates, and this is difficult for many. I honestly think it takes a special person to be a good and effective teacher. Parker Palmer writes that teaching is a community effort. My thoughts reflect John Dewey and his revelations of education as a social event and, more critically, a necessity.

“As I make the case that good teaching is always and essentially communal, I am not abandoning my claim that teaching cannot be reduced to technique. Community, or connectedness, is the principle behind good teaching, but different teachers with different gifts create community in surprisingly diverse ways, using widely divergent methods.” Parker Palmer

In my journeys in life, I use a word whose connotation is plural, referring to my journeys since I have been in several directions before where I am now. I have found that it is in happiness and solace that we find peace with ourselves. The quote I started with today reflects on solitude, which, for me, is a few moments each day in a spot I have selected away from the house, with a view across a large pasture. I can sit and reflect on my day or my day ahead, and I ponder sitting, listening to the sounds around me. I claim this spot as sacred, and some will scoff at the idea that it does not have a church or any religious affiliation. I titled my writing today as a spiritual side to teaching, and these two words intertwine for me as I look at them and ponder further.

“Sacred means, quite simply, worthy of respect.” Parker Palmer

In the years since I returned to teaching, it has been about respect and trust. I have gone about this by building relationships with students. In my own opinion, that is one of the most critical aspects of the teaching process. It is not simply a curriculum and a book or several books; it is relationships. I see what I do each day as a spiritual endeavor, bringing new ideas to students who may not have had the chance to understand or even experience this knowledge before. It has been nearly twenty years since I wrote a trust scale for a human development course I was taking. It follows along a similar concept that I had read about in Dr. James Fowler’s book, The Development of Faith. We start as totally trusting, soon learn not to trust, and eventually return to total trust. It takes good and great teachers to help along the way. Thinking about the new week ahead and a few days left in this week, the positive and negative that will come my way. I tend to choose to embrace the positive rather than spend much time considering the negative. I do hope each of you can take a moment to reflect, and please keep all in harm’s way on your mind and in your hearts, and always give thanks. Namaste.

My family and friends, I do not say this lightly,

Mitakuye Oyasin

(We are all related)

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