The daily meanderings of a teacher

Bird Droppings June 14, 2017 A spiritual side to teaching   “Solitude does not necessarily mean living apart from others; rather, it’s never living apart from one’s self. Not about absence of other people – it is about being fully present to ourselves, whether or not we are with others.” Parker Palmer   Dr. Parker…

Bird Droppings June 13, 2017 The head of education in the US should not be an idiot   It was nearly seven years ago I was reading an article actually an interview with Arne Duncan, the former Secretary of Education. I selected a few choice quotes from his interview to savor and ponder for a…

Bird Droppings June 12, 2017 Trying to teach an unteachable child   “Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.” John F. Kennedy…

Bird Droppings June 11, 2017 I am always thinking about where I am going   Last year about this time it was hectic. I drove down to Savannah to present my portion of a new book coming out soon edited by Dr. Bill Reynolds. Rural Places: Cartography of the forgotten. The book is based on…

Bird Droppings June 7, 2017 Why should we do more?   “Choices are sacred to life’s journey. They lie along the path that all of us must follow for ourselves. An important Cherokee lesson is that if you involve yourself in any decision, you also experience the consequences of that decision.” Dr. J.T. Garrett, Meditations…

Bird Droppings June 5, 2017 Imagining future: the public school and possibilities Reading an article from before the dawn of numerous federal bills that altered the face of education, and addressing the idea of moving between predictable and possible, literally defined my own journey through public education the past sixteen years. (Greene, 2000) As I…

Bird Droppings June 2, 2017 Can we find learning on the banks of the Chattahoochee River?   Two years ago I was apprehensive as I got up on that Sunday morning taking much longer than normal to get my day started. A good friend had called me and said that he would be in Phoenix…

Bird Droppings May 31, 2017 Is there passion in life or is it just obsession? “All games have an important and probably decisive influence on the destinies of the players under ordinary social conditions; but some offer more opportunities than others for life long careers and are more likely to involve innocent bystanders.” Dr. Eric…

Bird Droppings September 30, 2017 I am just sitting, pondering and thinking wiping away a tear or two   I was outside very early today as a great horned owl was irritating our dog keeping him up. It seems it was more than one as around me several were calling back and forth in an…