The daily meanderings of a teacher

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…

Bird Droppings August 20, 2024It takes more than one strand to make a rope. I opened a Matthew Fox daily meditation, which was based on the late Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk. Merton’s words were of his Celtic heritage and his grandmother’s family name, Bird. I found it interesting as I know my grandmother’s family…

Bird Droppings August 15, 2024 Ponderingerest, is that even a word? Coming up are some exciting days. One is an interesting yet solemn day marked by dark memories; twenty-three years ago, I started teaching again after a twenty-three-year layoff; thirty-six years ago, we brought a new baby home. So many memories are coming up in…

Bird Droppings August 14, 2024Keeping the stories going, remembering a dear friend For years, I would visit, take photos, and offer my two cents at the Foxfire Approach to Teaching Course taught through Piedmont College for graduate students and teachers. Classes would be held in the Mountain City Foxfire Museum classroom. This course had been…

Bird Droppings August 13, 2024 A spiritual side to teaching A Rainy Morning in Georgia that may be a song title. We have gone almost twenty days with little or no rain, and many areas were in drought conditions and a hundred miles east and recovering from floods from the last hurricane. After an exceptionally…