The daily meanderings of a teacher

Bird Droppings January 26, 2018 A chill in the air but not in the heart, thank you Maya Angelou   For several weeks now we have been balancing between warm and cold weather in the early mornings which still is too cold for the crickets and tree frogs who need an ambient temperature a bit…

Bird Droppings January 25, 2018 Should we be examining the threads of life?   “Man did not weave the web of life he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.” Chief Seattle, 1854   It has been a few years since I read a National Geographic…

Bird Droppings January 24, 2018 Reconciliation of trust   “It’s the examination of conscience. Unless you examine your conscience, you don’t know what you have to be sorry for and what to confess” Thomas Richstatter, O.F.M., S.T.D., Ten Tips for Better Confessions, The Gift of Reconciliation   Sort of difficult beginning a dropping with a…

Bird Droppings January 23, 2018 All in words we find   “The farmer channels water to his land. The fletcher whittles his arrows. And the carpenter turns his wood. So the wise direct their mind.” Dhammapada   Many years ago there was a folk song entitled, If I were a carpenter. As I read this…

Bird Droppings January 22, 2018 Sitting thinking of a circle   I missed the last rerun of a favorite miniseries, Into the West, and one of these days will find the DVD set or Netflix will add it.  The movie starts and ends with a circle of stones with a line going east to west…

Bird Droppings January 19, 2018 How do we know if we are still human?   Perhaps it is from growing up in a situation where we were daily aware of special needs children and adults from the birth of my younger brother till his passing almost nineteen years ago. Those in my family have had…

Bird Droppings January 18, 2018 Counting knuckles: or is it No child will be left behind who does what we want and is considered totally normal   One of my students asked a few years back what day of the month the following Friday would be and I responded January 30. Just as quick another…

Bird Droppings January 16, 2018 We are neither wolf nor dog   It has been some time since I first read a book by this name written by one of my favorite authors Kent Nerburn. In much of his writing Kent Nerburn addresses the spiritual significance and depth of life of our Native Peoples. While…

Bird Droppings January 15, 2018 Finding a way to forgive   “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” Mahatma Gandhi   It was a little over six years ago I spent the morning on a field tip of sorts for a graduate school class. We visited the MLK Jr. Memorial…