The daily meanderings of a teacher

Bird Droppings January 13, 2021 Taking and making the most of each moment and learning about moleskin: I think we need to find the moleskin in education along with switchbacks Sometimes I mis waking up to our dog barking because he needs to run outside for a second. Not always the best way to wake…

Bird Droppings January 12, 2021 Who is at the center of your universe? “Tung-shan was asked, ‘The normal mind is the way; what is the normal mind?’ He replied, ’Not picking things up along the road.’” From Teachings of Zen, edited by Thomas Cleary, © 1998 One aspect of the Zen teachings is the process…

Bird Droppings January 9, 2021Passion to learn/teach: Can it be rekindled? Many days I wonder who I write for in the morning. Perhaps no one, maybe a teacher who needs just a thought but occasionally I write for me. I needed an uplift, an adrenaline shot so to say. Starting in a new school with…

Bird Droppings January 8, 2021Quietly listening to Bob Dylan and pondering the word inspiration I woke up a bit earlier than normal although I did have a particularly good night’s sleep. I started thinking back to a day that had been thrown off by an administrator’s discipline talk. The afternoon immediately following, we were dealing…

Bird Droppings January 7, 2021 Our goal in teaching should be for students to create new questions Over the past year I was back in active teaching until May. I have been pondering as usual. I have received advice through email and even a billboard or two driving home from Mount Yonah on a quick…

Bird Droppings January 6, 2021 A chill in the air but not in the heart, thank you Maya Angelou For several weeks now, we have been balancing between warm and cold weather in the early mornings which still is too cold for the crickets and tree frogs who need an ambient temperature a bit more…

Bird Droppings January 5, 2021Examining the threads of life “Man did not weave the web of life he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.” Chief Seattle, 1854 It has been a few years since I read a National Geographic article where the lead in photo…

Bird Droppings January 4, 2021 Sitting thinking of a circle I am looking through various providers of shows, movies and miniseries for a series I really enjoyed, Into the West. I will find it one of these days. The series starts and ends with a circle of stones with a line going east to west…

Bird Droppings January 3, 2021Why there should be no teasing? “Before you speak, ask yourself, is it kind, is it necessary, and is it true, does it improve on the silence?” Hindu proverb So often I speak first and clean up afterwards many times simply walking away quite generally leaving whoever I am conversing with…

Bird Droppings January 1, 2021 Trying not to trip on a grain of sand on the first day of a new year I was so remarkably close to starting this day with the title of Bentley, however as I thought further some might elude that nomenclature to a rather pricey car. It was an old…