The daily meanderings of a teacher

Bird Droppings July 24, 2018 How do we know we are grown up?   “The day the child realizes that all adults are imperfect he becomes an adolescent; the day he forgives them; he becomes an adult; the day he forgives himself; he becomes wise.” Alden Nowlan   Earlier this week a former student posted…

Bird Droppings July 23, 2018 Should we even 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…

Bird Droppings July 20, 2018 Why is experience the greatest teacher?   “Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.” Douglas Adams, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy   What a way to start with a line…

Bird Droppings July 19, 2018 How capable do we need to be? Inspired by a student.   What a contrast to only a few months 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…

Bird Droppings July 17, 2018 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 15, 2018 Did you know trees can talk?   “Did you know that trees talk? Well, they do. They talk to each other, and they’ll talk if you listen. Trouble is, white people don’t listen. They never learned to listen to the Indians so I don’t suppose they’ll listen to other voices…

Bird Droppings July 15, 2018 One puzzle piece at a time, a secret formula for good teaching.   “Most people would succeed in small things if they were not troubled with great ambitions.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow   How many times are we told “take your time”? So often in life we are anxious to get the…

Bird Droppings July 13, 2018 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 10, 2018 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 do not understand that statement and perhaps it is because we have more jaw muscle than…