The daily meanderings of a teacher

Bird Droppings July 23, 2019 What does it take for that light bulb to go on?   Yesterday I finally could sit long enough to do some work on my dissertation. I had a couple emails back and forth with my chair and actually felt like I was back on track for my doctorate. It…

Bird Droppings July 21, 2019 Doing what you love is not really work   “To love what you do and feel that it matters, how could anything be more fun?” Katharine Graham   For many local teachers next week is getting back for teacher work days. Sitting here nursing a sore leg from surgery Graham’s…

Bird Droppings July 20, 2019 Is there a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?   In the course of a few days several storms passed through quickly each a very definitive front literally flying by and all ending with rainbows, or so I have been told. On one occasion a twin rainbow.…

Bird Droppings July 18, 2019 It takes more than one strand to make a rope, in life and in education.   “You cannot contribute anything to the ideal condition of mind and heart known as Brotherhood, however much you preach, posture, or agree, unless you live it.” Faith Baldwin   Each day as I talk to…

Bird Droppings July 15, 2019 Should we consider ignorance a part of the journey?   “If I want to justify my existence, and continue to be obsessed with the notion that I’ve got to do something for humanity — well, teaching ought to quell that obsession — and if I can ever get around to…

Bird Droppings July 14, 2019 How capable do we need to be? Inspired by a student.   What a contrast to only a few weeks ago listening to the Atlantic Ocean, the moon is coming back smiling at me as I went out in the wee hours with a crystal-clear sky. There was a gentle…

Bird Droppings July 12, 2019 What do we miss?   All Along the Watchtower   There must be some way out of here, Said the joker to the thief, There’s too much confusion, I can’t get no relief. Businessmen, they drink my wine, Plowmen dig my earth, None of them along the line Know what…

Bird Droppings July 10, 2019 Like the spider web all of life is connected and intertwined   As I thought about the Sydney J. Harris passage below I recall a walk one morning out to a quiet spot where I meditate and something hit me. As I faced east towards the rising sun the gossamer…

Bird Droppings July 9, 2019 Hearing and listening are critical   “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” Epictetus   A simple analogy yet we far too often we as parents. Teachers and or friends do not understand that statement. Perhaps it is because…

Bird Droppings July 9, 2018 In a world of data can we still use intuition?   I had a thought this morning and it’s kind of depressing when I think about it. We are basically training our new teachers in all the things that we as older teachers find wrong in education. (pre NCLB) It hit…