The daily meanderings of a teacher

A journal from a teacher

Solitude is within ones soul and heart

Bird Droppings February 4, 2013 Solitude is within ones soul and heart “No person, standing before this mystery, has the wisdom or the knowledge to see across the curtain. But for those who stand before their dead with aching hearts and tear filled eyes, one affirmation endures..one truth remains…and one light shines clear. Where there…

February 4, 2013
Why would anyone be a teacher?

Bird Droppings February 3, 2013 Why would anyone be a teacher? I was talking with students several days ago about going into teaching and one of the students actually wanted to be a teacher. Along that line the Georgia Legislator had discussed previously if only briefly increasing teacher pay by four percent after numerous years…

February 3, 2013
Apathy is being there and never having really gone

Bird Droppings February 1, 2013 Apathy is being there and never having really gone “The problem isn’t materialism as such. Rather it is the underlying assumption that full satisfaction can arise from gratifying the senses alone. Unlike animals whose quest for happiness is restricted to survival and to the immediate gratification of sensory desires, we…

February 1, 2013
Counting knuckles can work if we allow it or NCLB2 No Congressmen left behind

Bird Droppings January 31, 2013 Counting knuckles can work if we allow it or NCLB2 No Congressmen left behind On Wednesday a student asked what day of the month Thursday would be and I responded January 31 and just as quick another said he thought it was the first. I said no it was the…

January 31, 2013
A wondering of the moment

Bird Droppings January 30, 2013 A wondering of the moment Nearly ten years ago I received this email from a dear friend. I met Frances 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 at the time at a…

January 30, 2013
All in words we use

Bird Droppings January 29, 2013 All in words we find On days when my wife is out of town I can go out and take sunrise photos and wander about as I do with few time restrictions. This past weekend sunrises were gorgeous and I was able to sit and watch for nearly thirty minutes…

January 29, 2013
We should be examing the threads of life

Bird Droppings January 28, 2013 We should be examining the threads of life “Man did not weave the web of life – he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.” Chief Seattle, 1854 It has been a few years since I read a National Geographic article…

January 28, 2013
The circle is the basis for life

Bird Droppings January 27, 2013 The circle is a basis for life 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; there is a line going east to west and one going…

January 27, 2013
Who is at the center of your universe?

Bird Droppings January 25, 2013 Who is at the center of your universe? “Tung-shan was asked, ‘The normal mind is the way; what is the normal mind?’ He replied, ’Not picking things up along the road.’” From Teachings of Zen, edited by Thomas Cleary, © 1998 One aspect of the Zen teachings is the process…

January 25, 2013
Can we define success?

Bird Droppings January 24, 2013 Can we define our own success? Yesterday in a teachable moment I drew upon my experiences and while discussing the phylum arthopoda and one of my favorites the black and yellow garden spider, Agriope aurantia, or writing spiders. I then proceeded to offer a Creek Indian view of early morning.…

January 24, 2013