The daily meanderings of a teacher

Bird Droppings February 2, 2012 Have we sold our souls?   Morning is a special time for me; it is a beginning and that is the easy way to say it. For me several aspects of this start to the day almost are routine, like taking our dog out then sitting down for writing and…

Bird Droppings February 1, 2012 Apathy is being there and never having 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 human…

Bird Droppings January 31, 2012 Counting knuckles   On Friday a student asked what day of the month Tuesday 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 thirty first and he proceeded to count his knuckles, “a knuckle…

Bird Droppings January 30, 2012 Planning ahead   “Ten percent of your life is made up of what happens to you and ninety percent is made up of how you react. Therefore we have no control over 10% of what happens to us. We do however have control over the other ninety percent and that…

Bird Droppings January 29, 2012 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. I went out very early today to sit and give thanks. I had many things on…

Bird Droppings January 28, 2012 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 teacher at Loganville High School in 2001. Frances had been teaching English and had worked with our then principal at the time at a…

Bird Droppings January 27, 2012 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 south through the…

Bird Droppings January 26, 2012 Taking and making the most of each moment   Waking up to my dog barking because she needs to run outside for a second is not the best way to wake up, although a beautiful sky greeted me. I received a call midday yesterday that my mother had to be…

Bird Droppings January 25, 2012 How heavy a load can we carry?               It has been so many years since I last toted a backpack up a mountain trail. I can recall going over gear before a trip to make sure we had enough yet our packs were as light as possible. We would…

Bird Droppings January 24, 2012 Can we define our own success?   Yesterday in a teachable moment I drew upon my experiences and while discussing the phylum arthopoda and black and yellow garden spiders offered a Creek Indian view of early morning. Early in the morning I will often go and sit watching the sun…