The daily meanderings of a teacher

Bird Droppings June 19, 2017 Life is making a quilt   It was nearly ten years ago today my wife walked in and told me that my mother said this was to be a happy time, a joyous occasion, as we celebrated my father’s life. She said I think we are even having a snow…

Bird Droppings June 16, 2016 Teaching can be successful   Just about a year ago I was waking up in a Bed and Breakfast nestled off the road in Rabun Gap Ga. The previous night sunset was set against the mountains of north Georgia. So as I do on many mornings when I get the…

Bird Droppings June 15, 2017 Why do we fail?   Many times, I have wondered why people stop learning. I see it in high school students, in college and graduate students. Almost as if a switch is thrown and poof no more learning, I have reached my limit. I had a teacher approach me before…

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…