The daily meanderings of a teacher

Bird Droppings March 22, 2010 In search of faith It is amusing to me as I read through various blogs and emails from the night before how many people were asking for miracles both for passage of a house bill and against it. I watched nearly three hours of debate over a political situation that…

Bird Droppings March 18, 2010 Zero is only a reference point My niece is a senior at the high school here and also on the girl’s soccer team, who happens to be one of the top in our region and in the state. She is the goalie for the team. I try and get out…

Bird Droppings March 17, 2010 All is possible “We live by our imagination, our admirations, and our sentiments.” Ralph Waldo Emerson I think back to childhood and games before the dawn of current video games and virtual reality. Many times we would create fantasies of Robin Hood and such in a small patch of shrubs…

Bird Droppings March 16, 2010 Endeavor to persevere “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” Albert Einstein How do you teach perseverance, that stick-to-itiveness that can be a part of the human experience? I watch many teachers flounder when students leave that realm of attention and then teachers…

Bird Droppings March 15, 2010 Searching 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 of liberty.” His…

Bird Droppings March 12, 2010 The courage to teach “Teaching, like any truly human activity, emerges from one’s inwardness, for better or for worse. As I teach, I project the condition of my soul onto my students, my subjects, and our way of being together. The entanglements I experience in the classroom are often no…

Bird Droppings March 11, 2010 Wouldn’t it be great if we could script great teachers? As I watched the several various movies about teachers over the past few weeks it recently it hit me, wouldn’t it be great if we could somehow provide a package for teaching, write that perfect script anyone could follow and…

Bird Droppings March 10, 2010 Trying to raise a Flag Growing up as a child I recall the many stories my father would tell, stories of World War II, of Grandpa Niper, and my favorite stories of Native American warriors and chiefs. I am amused as my youngest son says back in the day. One…

Bird Droppings March 9, 2010 Having a heart “There are four bases of sympathy: charity, kind speech, doing a good turn, and treating all alike.” Buddha, From the Sayings of the Buddha Yesterday I worked with students expressing a news article in a visual form be that a drawing, power point, poster or any visual…

Bird Droppings March 8, 2010 Setting the example I received an email many months and many nights ago from a friend in Pa., referring to comments I had made, she borrowed from scripture and how a house should be built upon a solid base. She was talking about how we get children to learn to…