The daily meanderings of a teacher

Bird Droppings June 26, 2015 Culture is far more than just a word “Silence was meaningful with the Lakota, and granting a space of silence before talking was done in the practice of true politeness and regardful of the rule that thought comes before speech. In the midst of sorrow, sickness, death or misfortune of…

Bird Droppings June 25, 2015 Why do we wish, wonder and wait? “Calamity is the perfect glass wherein we truly see and know ourselves.” William Davenant It has been nearly nine years since we moved last and found ourselves in this house. I wasn’t sure from where to start several ideas have been running through…

Bird Droppings June 24, 2015 Why do we fail? Many the 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 June22, 2015 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 Palmer is an…

Bird Droppings June 21, 2015 My fathers always on my mind and in my heart It was quiet in the house today as I got up from my chair. I woke up early as I do and my oldest asleep upstairs and my wife visiting her mother I went out and sat down only to…

Bird Droppings June 19, 2015 The head of education in the US should not be an idiot It was five years ago I was reading an article actually an interview with Arne Duncan, the Secretary of Education. I selected a few choice quotes from his interview to savor and ponder for a few days. As…

Bird Droppings June 18, 2015 Could there be such a thing as Essential Education? It has been almost two years since I was discussing various educational philosophies and pedagogies with my son. One happened to be essential education which per his text is only a slight step from perennial education that is reading, writing and…

Bird Droppings June 17, 2015 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 As…

Bird Droppings June 16, 2015 What is the Sixteen Hour Syndrome and should embrace it or find a cure? I was teaching last night a college class and in the process played with a word that I saw online in a Martin Luther King Jr. quote a friend had posted. “A nation that will keep…

Bird Droppings June 15, 2015 I am always thinking about where I am going “Sooner or later something seems to call us onto a particular path… this is what I must do; this is what I’ve got to have. This is who I am. It’s important to ask yourself, how am I useful to others?…