The daily meanderings of a teacher

Bird Droppings September 10, 2023 Can we see a gray world in color? My wife shared a photo she took earlier while walking of spider webs along the power lines, a common event on cooler wet mornings when the dew settles on the webs. I was inspired to go out and take a few photos…

Bird Droppings September 8, 2023 Grandparenting/Teaching is telling our students and grandchildren the stories. I have been lazy lately. I have been reading and documenting notes for my dissertation but have not pulled them up in a few days. I am finishing up the first three chapters of my dissertation. My title has changed over…

Bird Droppings September 4, 2023 Ponderingerest is that even a word? Coming up are some exciting days. One is an interesting yet solemn day marked by dark memories; twenty-two years ago, I started teaching again after a twenty-three-year layoff; thirty-four years ago, we brought a new baby home. So many memories are coming up this…

Bird Droppings September 3, 2023 It is about understanding I read a student’s psychological report years back who could decode almost any word put in front of them. The confusion comes when trying to tell you what was read. The two components of reading, decoding, and comprehension, are needed to be a successful reader. I…

Bird Droppings August 26. 2023A beginning from an end “It is the function of art to renew our perception. What we are familiar with, we cease to see. The writer shakes up the familiar scene, and, as if by magic, we see a new meaning in it.” Albert Einstein The recent weather reminded me of…

Bird Droppings August 25, 2023 Quietly listening to Hot Tuna and pondering the word inspiration. Nearly twenty years ago, at a county-wide teacher kick-off meeting, traditionally a packaged inspirational meeting and welcome before budget cuts. This was the startup for the new school year led by a brought-in speaker. They would pay big dollars for…

Bird Droppings August 21, 2023Kissing a frog on a chilly, wet morning is still hard. It was chilly and wet here in northeast Georgia, with nighttime temperatures hanging in the sixties. We had an inch plus of rain two days ago and several more last night. However, a rumor of a nice week hanging out…

Bird Droppings August 15, 2023The synchronicity saga and or the saga of synchronicity I write often of coincidence; it may seem boring to some. It is a never-ending saga of special moments, one after the other. During a college graduate class, we discussed science and measuring data. Intuition and coincidence, it seems, are difficult commodities…

Bird Droppings August 12, 2023What do teachers really know? “Teachers are one of the most important resources a nation has for providing the skills, values, and knowledge that prepare young people for productive citizenship – but more than this, to give sanctuary to their dreams and aspirations for a future of hope, dignity, and justice.…

Bird Droppings August 11, 2023Driving up a mountain takes effort. I am looking forward to another trip to Black Rock Mountain in North Georgia, the site of the Foxfire Museum property and the former site of Piedmont College’s teacher’s class in The Foxfire Approach to Teaching. My oldest son took the course as part of…