The daily meanderings of a teacher

Bird Droppings September 2, 2020  It is about understanding   I read a student’s psychological report years back who could decode most any word put in front of them. The confusion comes when trying to tell you what was read. The two components of reading, decoding, and comprehension are needed to be a successful reader.…

Bird Droppings September 1, 2020  Looking for the right words in a new morning   “The place to improve the world is first in one’s own heart and head and hands.” Robert M. Pirsig, American author   “Robert Maynard Pirsig September 6, 1928 – April 24, 2017, was an American writer and philosopher. He was…

Bird Droppings August 31, 2020 Sometimes history is a teacher and for others only a memory   The anniversary of a day that will be a scar on our nation’s history is soon upon us.  On September 15, 1963 an explosion tore through the African-American 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, it was a…

Bird Droppings August 29, 2020 I am told, there is a reason.   “The purpose of life is a life of purpose.” Robert Byrne   I often wonder about this idea, as have so many before me and will after I am gone. Philosophers wonder, and wise men ponder, is their purpose, a reason for…

Bird Droppings August 28, 2020 Why do we have public education? To educate all our Children. For all teachers today is a day of action. Standup for what you believe in. I read an article that references children as others yesterday. The way a profiteer looks at children are entities, simply others, consumers and I…

Bird Droppings August 27, 2020 A beginning from an end “It is the function of art to renew our perception. What we are familiar with we cease to see. The writer shakes up the familiar scene, and as if by magic, we see a new meaning in it.” Albert Einstein I was thinking back a…

Bird Droppings August 26, 2020 Quietly listening to Hot Tuna and pondering the word inspiration Nearly eighteen years ago, at a county-wide teacher kick-off meeting, traditionally a packaged inspirational meeting and welcome before budget cuts. This was the startup for the new school year lead by a brought in speaker. They would pay big dollars…

Bird Droppings August 24, 2020 Driving up a mountain takes effort   I am looking forward to another trip to Black Rock Mountain in North Georgia, the site of the Foxfire Museum property and the former site of the Piedmont College’s teacher’s class in The Foxfire Approach to teaching. My oldest son took the course…

Bird Droppings August 22, 2020 Progressive versus traditional teachers   In a ninth-grade literature class that I happen to co-teach in several years back, I was introduced to the Freedom Writers Diary and the film based on the book. In some ways the story is similar to the story of Foxfire. Erin Gruell, a first…

Bird Droppings August 25, 2019 Teaching is making a difference each day, even if only for one student   I was leaving a fast food joint yesterday and my leg was bothering me. I had been in casts for nearly six months and still go to Physical Therapy three times a week. I went to…