The daily meanderings of a teacher

Bird Droppings May 31, 2024Learning and teaching are not the same and yet intertwine. “In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but how many can get through to you.” Dr. Mortimer J. Adler Dr. Adler founded the Center for the Study of…

Bird Droppings May 30, 2024Teaching in a spiritual sense “Solitude does not necessarily mean living apart from others; rather, it’s never living apart from oneself. Not about the 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 May 29, 2024Can you be dreaming, imagining, thinking, ponderingAnd reflecting all in a few minutes? I drove to southeast Georgia nearly sixteen years ago to take my oral exams for my doctorate. This was a face-to-face follow-up with my committee of professors and, in turn, responding to my three written questions, which were…

Bird Droppings May 28, 2024Trying 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 I…

Bird Droppings May 27, 2024 A few words (81 quotes) from famous people on Education A number of years ago I went looking for quotes on education as I was writing one morning happened to be June 8, 2004. As I gathered these together, I thought to myself one day I will share these with…

Bird Droppings May 24, 2024 Being reborn is simply listening with the heart So often in life, we hear words and rationalize those utterances, develop an opinion, and then logically state a response. I was sitting in a meeting after talking with my principal about next year, and being a retired part-timer, I am sort…

Bird Droppings May 22, 2024Are we missing Creativity? Today was another quiet morning as I wandered out and about, taking sunrise pictures as I do when there is some color in the sky. The birds were hiding from view were already calling. The crickets and frogs, as always, are a beautiful chorus for the morning…

Bird droppings May 21, 2024Translating and communicating also involve perception “Scientific management is always on guard against people who don’t fit securely into boxes, whether because of too much competency, too much creativity, too much popularity, or what have you. Although often hired, it is with the understanding they must be kept on a short…

Bird Droppings May 20, 2024What do we miss? Walking the beach at sunrise makes it easy to miss the small things while gazing at a beautiful sunrise. One might find a starfish, angel wing shell, or cannonball jellyfish. It is similar in life, and we often overlook small matters, focusing only on the large. My…

Bird Droppings May 19, 2024 Teaching can be successful, and it can happen at any time. When I am home, I try to walk out to a quiet corner of my backyard; yesterday, I walked as I always do when we go to the beach at Pawleys Island. Even at the beach, strands of spider…