The daily meanderings of a teacher

Bird Droppings February 1, 2022For some, creating writing seems so difficult in a digital world. “Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him.” Aldus Huxley In 1965 I was introduced to this author in a tenth grade English Class. The book was Brave New…

Bird Droppings January 31, 2022Solitude is within one’s soul and heart “No person, standing before this mystery, has the wisdom or the knowledge to see across the curtain. But for those who stand before their dead with aching hearts and tear-filled eyes, one affirmation endures. One truth remains…and one light shines clear. Where there has…

Bird Droppings January 30, 2022 Symbolic Totem Pole Growing up in my family, my father had made numerous totem poles in our backyards over the years. Each was painted images of creatures. Eagles, bears, wolves adorned the totem poles. The last one was torn down or fell only a few years ago. In Cub Scouts,…

Bird Droppings January 29, 2022 Where have all the teachers gone? I first wrote a variation of this essay nearly fifteen years ago. Over the past few days, I have been talking with a few new college seniors who are student-teaching. As I head around getting my odds and ends done for the week and…

Bird Droppings January 28, 2022 The fragility of life I was awakened a bit early with a very vivid dream early this morning. I am also getting old and needed to take a potty break. Hearing what I the rain and a teenager, I assume tearing out of our subdivision about two in the morning,…

Bird Droppings January 27, 2022Selecting your pallet I wrote the basics of this article nearly twenty years ago and was thinking of an artist friend trying to define her art and searching for her meaning in life. My friend often reflects her political views and emotions through her art. As I sit here this afternoon…

Bird Droppings January 22, 2022Reconciliation of trust I came upstairs to work on my dissertation and got sidetracked talking with my wife headed to a funeral in Dublin, Georgia, for her aunt, who just passed away. Her G.P.S. was taking her a different route than she had planned. However, the route she was following was…

Bird Droppings January 19, 2022It would be great if we could script great teachers I watched several various movies about teachers over the years. It hit me as I thought it would be great if we could somehow provide a package to new teachers to do great teaching. Suppose someone could write that perfect script…

Bird Droppings January 18, 2022Can we say true heroism and humility are spelled the same? “True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” Arthur Ashe Even though I am one of the worst spellers in…

Bird Droppings January 17, 2022 I saw a Red-Tailed Hawk It isn’t significant for many as I look at that statement; a red-tailed hawk crossed my path as I traveled nearly ten years ago, flying across the road and landing in a tree. Behind our house, a pair of hawks has hunted the fields and…