The daily meanderings of a teacher

A journal from a teacher

Filling cracks in leaky pots is not always the solution

Bird Droppings May 18, 2015Filling cracks in leaky pots is not always the solution Many thousands of years ago Buddha compared people to four kinds of clay vessels. Borrowing these words today as I am thinking to several days lost traveling to see a new grand baby, from my normal routine of writing and doing…

May 18, 2025
Bird Droppings May 17, 2025 Is there a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? “Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Abraham Lincoln Perhaps some people are inherently grouchy in the scheme of things; in Lincoln’s view, they want to be grouchy. Sitting here pondering…

May 17, 2025
Being reborn is simply listening with the heart

Bird Droppings May 14, 2025 Being reborn is simply listening with the heart So often in life, we hear words and rationalize those utterances, develop an opinion, and then logically state a response. I was sitting in a meeting after talking with my principal about next year, and being a retired part-timer, I am sort…

May 14, 2025
Teaching can be successful, and it can happen at any time.

Bird Droppings May 12, 2025 Teaching can be successful, and it can happen at any time. When I am home, I try to search for a sunrise almost every morning. When we go to the beach at Pawleys Island, I am always on the beach for sunrises. Even at the beach, strands of spider webbing…

May 12, 2025
Life is making a quilt it requires many pieces and many more stitches

Bird Droppings May 8, 2025Life is making a quilt it requires many pieces and many more stitches Nearly eighteen years ago, my wife told me that my mother said this would be a joyous time as we celebrated my father’s life on a Sunday. She said we even have a snow cone machine, and I…

May 8, 2025
Searching for a flower, the butterfly pea (Clitoria marina), or is it gone now

Bird Droppings May 7, 2025Searching for a flower, the butterfly pea (Clitoria marina), or is it gone now Interestingly, I had two thoughts earlier in the week as I started the day that made me think of them. One I heard on the radio was that I was going to get some gas in my…

May 7, 2025
Wondering is a powerful tool.

Bird Droppings May 6, 2025Wondering is a powerful tool. Several years back, we started a school-wide vocabulary of the week during the school year. I was reminded of this as I looked through my various files for quotes. About eight years ago, as the day wound down, an email from the head of the English…

May 6, 2025
Is there such a thing as an unteachable child

Bird Droppings May 2, 2025Is there such a thing as 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.…

May 2, 2025
Can we find learning on the banks of the Chattahoochee River?

Bird Droppings May 1, 2025 Can we find learning on the banks of the Chattahoochee River? About ten years ago, I was apprehensive as I got up on that 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 City,…

May 1, 2025
Should we sharpen the machete or bring a really big shovel?

Bird Droppings April 30, 2025Should we sharpen the machete or bring a really big shovel? I have been reflecting on the concept of critical pedagogy, and in that reflection, I recall an incident nearly fifty years ago that calls to mind my interpretation and understanding of what we as teachers are all about. I purchased…

April 30, 2025