The daily meanderings of a teacher

Bird Droppings January 27, 2017 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 ending this shortened week with…

Bird Droppings January 26, 2017 Our goal in teaching is for students to create new questions   Over the past month I have been pondering New Year’s resolutions and advice for next year posting, emailing and even a billboard or two driving home from North Carolina several weeks back.  With all of the football games…

Bird Droppings January 25, 2017 Selecting your pallet I wrote the basics of this article nearly twelve years ago and at the time was thinking of an artist friend who was trying to define her art as well as searching for her own meaning in life. My friend often reflects her political views and emotions…

Bird Droppings January 24, 2017 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 23, 2017 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.  The movie starts and ends with a circle of stones with a line going east to west and one going north to…

Bird Droppings January, 2017 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 eighteen years ago. Those in my family have had connections…

Bird Droppings January 19, 2017 Counting knuckles   On Friday a student asked what day of the month next Friday would be and I responded January 30 and just as quick another said he thought it was the first. I said no it was the thirty first and he proceeded to count his knuckles, “a…

Bird Droppings January 18, 2017 A wondering of the circle for a moment   Nearly thirteen years ago I received this email from a dear friend. I met Frances Friedman when I was a new staff member at Loganville High School in 2001. Frances had been teaching English and had worked with our then principal…