The daily meanderings of a teacher

Bird Droppings December 19, 2019 Sometimes there is Risk   It has been nearly a year since I drove my wife to work and while heading back caught sight of a glorious sunrise beginning. By the time I got to the house I had a few minutes to run in side and get a decent…

Bird Droppings December 18, 2019 Is there topsoil left midst an erosion of soul?   “To be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the human soul.” Simone Weil   “The need for roots,” I saw this idea earlier as I web surfed thinking and pondering this morning or perhaps as…

Bird Droppings December 17, 2019 Understanding the symbols of life   “Symbols express and represent meaning. Meaning helps provide purpose and understanding in the lives of human beings. Indeed, to live without symbols is to experience existence far short of its full meaning. Ways of expressing and representing meaning include the symbol systems of mathematics,…

Bird Droppings December 16, 2019 It is about random acts of kindness   I was a bit earlier than I planned to get started this morning. I got up this morning and my son’s faithful dog decided I did not need to sleep any more. He was quick to run outside and then wanted right…

Bird Droppings December 15, 2019 A chill in the air but not in the heart   For several days the now we have been at or below freezing in the early mornings which totally silences the crickets and tree frogs who need an ambient temperature a bit warmer, maybe high fifties low sixties. So, for…

Bird Droppings December 13, 2019 Is there a difference between progressive and traditional teachers?   A few years back in a ninth-grade literature class that I happened to be co-teaching in, I was introduced to the book Freedom Writers Diary. We also watched the film based on the book. In some ways the story is…

Bird Droppings December 12, 2019 Who would have thought of a buffalo snort in the dark?   “Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold of for  the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it…

Bird Droppings December 11, 2019 I am just sitting, pondering and thinking wiping away a tear or two   I was outside very early today to check the air and temperature. In the darkness I could hear a great horned owl it might have been what was irritating our dog keeping him up. It seems…

Bird Droppings December 7, 2019 How we perceive is often the beginning of the discussion   A dear friend brought up a conversation with a flat earth believer the other day. This person he had been talking with essentially disavowed science in many areas. My son offered is Mars visibly round from a telescope and…

Bird Droppings December 6, 2019 Naughty or Nice, might be in the semantics   “The best portion of a good man’s life: his little, nameless unremembered acts of kindness and love.” William Wordsworth   One day when you look back and try and remember what was that act I did or when did I do…