The daily meanderings of a teacher

Tag: Learning

  • Why not continue the Journey? Freire and Foxfire both start with F’s.

    Bird Droppings July 14, 2026Why not continue the Journey? Freire and Foxfire both start with F’s. “So I’d much rather get across the concept of freedom. It’s what’s important to Indian children. The only way you can be free is to know that you are worthwhile as a distinct human being. Otherwise you become what…

  • High Stakes Testing and/or Inspection: Does it work?

    Bird Droppings July 12, 2026 High Stakes Testing and/or Inspection: Does it work? About twenty-four years ago, I recall we spent several months preparing for a peer review; it was called a GAPPS Review. About the same time, you throw in the Georgia High School Graduation retests, the PSAT, and the End of Course tests…

  • Can I teach myself, or am I even allowed?

    Bird Droppings July 11, 2026 Can I teach myself, or am I even allowed? “There is then, nothing final about a logical rendering of experience. Its value is not contained in itself; its significance is that of standpoint, outlook, and method. It intervenes between the more casual, tentative, and roundabout experiences of the past, and…

  • I wonder if you can get moon burn?

    Bird Droppings July 10, 2026 I wonder if you can get moon burn? Last night, after getting home from my grandson’s birthday dinner, I was listening to tree frogs begin their nightly chorus. As I stood outside, I noticed, high in the sky to the west, a smiling moon and knew it was going down…

  • Is “Counting knuckles” a thing?

    Bird Droppings July 4, 2026Is “Counting knuckles” a thing? One Friday several years back, a student asked what day of the month next Friday would be.  I responded on January 30, and just as quickly as another said he thought it was the first. I said no, it was the thirty-first, and he proceeded to…

  • Quietly listening to Hot Tuna and pondering the word inspiration.

    Bird Droppings June 28, 2026 Quietly listening to Hot Tuna and pondering the word inspiration. Always a good feeling to be home after vacation. We had a fantastic week with our son and our grandkiddos. We never slowed down, and the week flew by. I cooked breakfast, my favorite meal, seven mornings, and made maybe…

  • The head of education in the US should not be an idiot.

    Bird Droppings June 24 and 25, 2026 The head of education in the US should not be an idiot. It was nearly twenty years ago that I was reading an article, actually an interview with Arne Duncan, the former Secretary of Education. I selected a few choice quotes from his interview to savor and ponder…

  • Teaching in a spiritual sense

    Bird Droppings June 22, 2026Teaching in a spiritual sense I went out earlier to fill up my gas tank so we could go cruising the Island after all the grandkids get back. I went down a side road, and a sunrise appeared. I know the sun comes up, but the timing and the characters all…

  • Can you be dreaming, imagining, thinking, ponderingAnd reflecting all in a few minutes?

    Bird Droppings June 21, 2026Can you be dreaming, imagining, thinking, ponderingAnd reflecting all in a few minutes? I drove to southeast Georgia nearly twenty 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…

  • Standing in line at Kroger, always thinking about teaching

    Bird Droppings June 20, 2026Standing in line at Kroger, always thinking about teaching I am always looking for coincidence. This could be why so often I find it just about anywhere. It might be walking in my yard and seeing an owl sitting in a tree or standing in line at an odd hour at…