The daily meanderings of a teacher

Bird Droppings June 14, 2022Teaching 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 June 13, 2022Wondering is a powerful tool Several years back, during the school year, we started a school-wide vocabulary of the week. I was reminded of this as I looked through my various files for quotes. About six years ago, as the day wound down, an email from the head of the English…

Bird Droppings June 12, 2022Can you be dreaming, imagining, thinking, ponderingAnd reflecting all in a few minutes? I drove to southeast Georgia over ten 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 June 7, 2022 A firefly crossed my path  I wonder how many even notice when a firefly crosses their path. Most will not even stop to look at an insignificant moment in time. Today, as I sat in the darkness of a quiet morning, fireflies graced my yard for the first time; I…

Bird Droppings June 6, 2022Keeping 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 by Piedmont College for graduate students and teachers already in the classroom in Mountain City, Georgia. This course had been an elective graduate class…

Bird Droppings June 3, 2022Trying 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 June 1, 2022Searching for a flower, the butterfly pea (Clitoria marina), or is it gone now Interestingly, I had two thoughts earlier in the week as I started the day. One I heard on the radio going to get some gas in my wife’s car from a satellite radio announcer recalling an old…

Bird Droppings May 27, 2022 Innocence is more than a definition “Look at children. Of course, they may quarrel, but generally speaking they do not harbor ill feelings as much or as long as adults do. Most adults have the advantage of education over children, but what is the use of an education if they…

Bird Droppings May 24, 2022 Being reborn is 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 got thinking back to a conversation sitting discussing existentialism with my granddaughter one night nearly eleven years ago as she cooed and…

Bird Droppings May 23, 2022Can we even compare ethics and politics? I picked up a copy of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution this morning about five years ago. The front page had various articles, but one caught my attention. Having been a student in psychology at Mercer University in Macon and required to go on a field…