The daily meanderings of a teacher

Bird Droppings September 5, 2024Can we change things? “Therefore, the shortage of effective teachers is not a problem that can be solved by a new structure. It is caused by how we train and manage teachers and can only be solved by improving the way we do this, no matter what the structure of the…

Bird Droppings September 4, 2024 Can we see a gray world in color? As a teacher, parent, and grandparent, I am concerned about listening to the news of another school shooting. This one is only about twenty minutes from my house. A fourteen-year-old student took the lives of two teachers and two students. Speculation and…

Bird Droppings September 3, 2024Trying to understand giving thanks once a year, why we go to war, and always thinking about teaching I seldom have a difficult time sleeping. I crashed last night after a long day of helping our carpenter get materials loaded and unloaded to do some work at our house. I told…

Bird Droppings August 31, 2024 Are you trying to find a way back to normal, or is it abnormal? Is your child a hippy? “Your son or daughter may be flashing warning signals that he or she will soon drop out of society and join the “hippie” movement. If you know what to look for, you…

Bird Droppings August 29, 2024 Being reborn is listening with the heart So often in life, we hear words, rationalize those utterances, develop an opinion, and then logically state a response. I returned to a conversation discussing existentialism with my granddaughter one night nearly eleven years ago as she cooed and babbled, trying her best…

Bird Droppings August 28, 2024The 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…

Bird Droppings August 27, 2024 In a world of data, can we still use intuition, or should I say listening to our gut? This past weekend, I spent the better part of it either sitting on or walking on the beach at Pawleys Island, South Carolina. Whenever my wife and I go, we ensure we…

Bird Droppings August 26, 2024Reconciling the importance of the present, past, and future in order to find balance I spent the better part of yesterday while riding home from Palweya Island avoiding my direction, so intent on the moment, I missed the past and future cues. At one point, I was so lost in space…

Bird Droppings August 22, 2024Wind in the trees Over the past weeks, several storms have come through the area. Just before I went to bed last night, according to the weather, we would get another in the morning; now, it is clear through Saturday. Several times during a few nights back, I awakened, and a…

Bird Droppings August 21, 2024Today should always be the first day. “I have seen that in any great undertaking, it is not enough for a man to depend simply upon himself.” Lone Man (Isna-la-wica)Teton Sioux So often in life, we think we are the one and can do it all on our own with no…