The daily meanderings of a teacher

Bird Droppings December 29, 2021Why is seeking peace so difficult? I started and stopped several times writing this piece. My grandson wanted to watch Mickey Mouse with me and eat popcorn, so I was away from my computer. Around the world, armies are moving as I write. There are missiles are being aimed, and tanks…

Bird Droppings December 22, 2021 Should children be left behind? “I believe that our own experience instructs us that the secret of education lies in respecting the pupil. It is not for you to choose what he shall know, what he shall do. It is chosen and foreordained, and he only holds the key to…

Bird Droppings December 21, 2021There are always possibilities “Life has no limitations, except the ones you make.” Les Brown I was sitting talking with one of my sons yesterday, remembering when I was their age. I should say that trying to remember when I was their age would be more appropriate. I was thinking back…

Bird Droppings December 17, 2021 Waiting for a miracle I wrote this piece nearly fifteen years ago, and it still has a place in my heart. Miracle is a word used often by people of faith. It is an explanation for things that happen with no apparent cause and or rationale. We all sit waiting…

Bird Droppings December 16, 2021 Building Sandcastles drip by drip It was nearly twenty years ago when I was physically attending classes in graduate school almost every day, just before switching to Internet classes and WebCT. This took some getting used to going to school and then teaching school. I taught from 7:20 – 3:00…

Bird Droppings December 15, 2021 A chill in the air but not in the heart We have been at or below freezing in the early mornings for several days, which silences the crickets and tree frogs who need a slightly warmer ambient temperature, the maybe high fifties, and low sixties. So, for today, my orchestra…

Bird Droppings December 14, 2021 Who would have thought of a buffalo snort in the dark? “Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on…

Bird Droppings December 13, 2021How we perceive is often the beginning of the discussion A dear friend brought up a conversation with a flat earth believer the other day. This person he had been talking with essentially disavowed science in many areas. My son offered Mars is visibly round from a telescope and or, for…

Bird Droppings December 12, 2021 Teaching as improvisational art using learning as the pallet I wrote the basics of this article nearly sixteen years ago and thought of an artist friend, now a computer programmer, trying to define her art and searching for her meaning in life. My friend often reflected her political views and…

Bird Droppings December 10, 2021 Sitting, wondering, pondering, and dishwashing Several earlier readings on the internet got me thinking and pondering as I do in a roundabout way. So often, we take our technology for granted.  It has been about fourteen years since we moved into this house and a brand-new dishwasher. About six years…