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Are we going in the right direction?
Bird Droppings February 22, 2025Are we going in the right direction? I reviewed my student’s online work status four years ago. There were a couple of surprises and some that were not. I thought that when the virus finally moved on and the smoke cleared, some grades would go up, and some would drop. We…
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The Power of Example goes beyond the curriculum.
Bird Droppings February 21, 2025The Power of Example goes beyond the curriculum. “We taught our children by both example and instruction, but with an emphasis on example, because all learning is a dead language to one who gets it second hand.” Kent Nerburn, The Wisdom of the Native Americans For nearly twenty-five years, I have…
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Do we have a desire for freedom?
Bird Droppings February 20, 2025Do we have a desire for freedom? “Brute force, no matter how strongly applied, can never subdue the basic human desire for freedom and dignity. It is not enough, as communist systems have assumed, merely to provide people with food, shelter, and clothing. Human nature needs to breathe the precious air…
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Getting over the speed bumps
Bird Droppings February 17, 2025Getting over the speed bumps “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” Hannah More Perhaps ahead of her time, Ms. More wrote in abundance in the later 1700’s and early 1800’s. She was writing at a time when women should have been sitting…
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I was listening to the stillness of the morning and the sunrise, and sometimes, we need a window rather than a mirror.
Bird Droppings February 16, 2025I was listening to the stillness of the morning and the sunrise, and sometimes, we need a window rather than a mirror. I was sitting alone this morning, as I do often, trying to get a few photos of the sunrise. Today, it was mostly cloud cover and little else. The…
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Can we find answers?
Bird Droppings February 15, 2025Can we find answers? Several years ago, I would have said there were answers to almost any question that could be asked. Today, sitting here, I wonder, granted; first, you have to ask what the question or questions are, but now I have a different attitude that allows for an unanswerable…
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The inability to surmount learning difficulties
Bird Droppings February 14, 2025The inability to surmount learning difficulties It has been a few days since my last actual sunrise. For most of the past few days, we have had clouds and rain. I have been extremely busy with some minor corrections and a presentation for my dissertation defense in three weeks. Last week,…
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Should I be a wolf or dog in education?
Bird Droppings February 13, 2025 Should I be a wolf or dog in education? Considering the current news and political turmoil, I recalled a trip to the Atlanta Zoo. An older man approached me as I walked up the hill at the Zoo. I had never met this man previously and hoped never to meet…
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To die a happy death:
Bird Droppings February 12, 2025 To die a happy death: My mother’s spirit passed on four years ago. She went to sleep and moved on. As I pondered my thoughts for today, I always thought about education. I have been teaching public high school for nearly twenty years now, elementary school for two, and college…
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Can we teach a love of learning again?
Bird Droppings February 10, 2025Can we teach a love of learning again? This has been a perplexing time of my life out of the classroom, giving advice here and there to fellow teachers, parents, and students. I recall a car wreck in which a young man died, and his passenger, a good friend of my…
The daily meanderings of a teacher 