The daily meanderings of a teacher

Bird Droppings December 17, 2018 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 18, 2018 There are always possibilities “Life has no limitations, except the ones you make.” Les Brown I was riding home from school, talking with one of my sons yesterday remembering when I was their age. I should say trying to remember when I was their age that would be more appropriate.…

Bird Droppings December 16, 2018 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…

Bird Droppings December 13, 2018 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 12, 2018 Teaching as improvisational art using learning as the pallet   I wrote the basics of this article nearly fourteen years ago and at the time was thinking of an artist friend now a computer programmer who was trying to define her art as well as searching for her own meaning…

Bird Droppings December 11, 2018 It is the small pieces that seriously matter   Today just a short thought I am working on a vocabulary list for a biology benchmark test.   “Until you can clearly see each piece of the puzzle you will never be able to understand the whole.” Frank Bird, grandfather, teacher…

Bird Droppings December 7, 2018 Sitting, wondering, pondering and dishwashing   In a roundabout way several earlier readings on the internet got me thinking and pondering as I do. So often we take our technology for granted.  It has been about twelve years since we moved into this house and a brand new dishwasher. About…

Bird Droppings December 5, 2018 Example is such a simple lesson plan   “We taught our children by both example and instruction, but with an emphasis on example, because all learning is a dead language to one who gets it second hand.” Kent Nerburn, The Wisdom of the Native Americans   I have over the…

Bird Droppings December 3, 2018 Have YOU been Naughty or Nice?   I have a friend doing acts of kindness currently. She committed to an act of kindness every day. I try and live my life that way and I do make mistakes. But each day now she posted her act. At first I was…

Bird Droppings November 30, 2018 Our perceptions vary greatly about life   “Life is 10 percent what you make it and 90 percent how you take it.” Irving Berlin   It was over seventeen years ago I was waiting to go teach again after having spent nearly twenty three years in the publishing business. I…