The daily meanderings of a teacher

Bird Droppings March 5, 2024Are we going in the right direction? I reviewed my student’s online work status four years ago. There were a couple of surprises and some that were not. I thought that when the virus finally moved on, and the smoke cleared, some grades would go up, and some would drop. We…

Bird Droppings March 1, 2024What is the freedom we desire? “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…

Bird Droppings February 29, 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 February 24, 2024All of life is connected and intertwined. “In all likelihood, one is in the past while in the present. The present is then veiled; the past is manifest and apparent. However, so transparently present that is veiled., and one assumes oneself to be in the present when one is not. To…

Bird Droppings February 23, 2023 Glistening of wisdom on a gossamer strand Many years ago, I was sitting alongside a fence in a field far away from houses and people, and I watched a spider spin a web. We see webs all around, and I read there are thousands of spiders per acre in any…

Bird Droppings February 22, 2024Wandering about while I am waiting I was sitting listening to Crosby, Stills, and Nash acoustic while writing today. I have been sitting on the back porch taking photos of birds. I will be ready for spring. There are so many possibilities with various flowers blooming and baby ducks and geese…

Bird Droppings February 19, 2024 Is it only a dropped feather? “If we consider the eagle feather with its light and dark colors, we could argue that ‘the dark colors are more beautiful and, therefore, naturally more valuable,’ or vice versa. Regardless of which colors are more beautiful, or necessary, or valuable, the truth is…

Bird Droppings February 18, 2024Getting over the speed bumps “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” Hannah More Perhaps ahead of her time, Ms. More wrote in abundance in the late 1700s and early 1800s. She was writing when women should have been sitting at home according…

Bird Droppings February 17, 2024Practicing Patience It has been nearly forty-six years since I first went to Hemmingway’s just off the interstate in Decatur, Georgia. It was a favorite local entertainment establishment. My wife and I would go before and after our marriage primarily to listen to a local singer who provided a fantastic evening…

Bird Droppings February 16, 2042 Is it only a dropped feather? “If we consider the eagle feather with its light and dark colors, we could argue that ‘the dark colors are more beautiful and, therefore, naturally more valuable,’ or vice versa. Regardless of which colors are more beautiful, or necessary, or valuable, the truth is…