The daily meanderings of a teacher

Tag: Learning

  • Wondering is a powerful tool.

    Bird Droppings May 6, 2025Wondering is a powerful tool. Several years back, we started a school-wide vocabulary of the week during the school year. I was reminded of this as I looked through my various files for quotes. About eight years ago, as the day wound down, an email from the head of the English…

  • Is there such a thing as an unteachable child

    Bird Droppings May 2, 2025Is there such a thing as 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.…

  • Should we sharpen the machete or bring a really big shovel?

    Bird Droppings April 30, 2025Should we sharpen the machete or bring a really big shovel? I have been reflecting on the concept of critical pedagogy, and in that reflection, I recall an incident nearly fifty years ago that calls to mind my interpretation and understanding of what we as teachers are all about. I purchased…

  • I have found a spiritual side to teaching

    Bird Droppings April 29, 2025I have found a spiritual side to teaching “Solitude does not necessarily mean living apart from others; rather, it’s never living apart from one’s self. Not about absence of other people – it is about being fully present to ourselves, whether or not we are with others.” Parker Palmer Dr. Parker…

  • Going to school again for the first time

    Bird Droppings April 25, 2025 Going to school again for the first time So often, as I start my writings each morning, there has been an experience recently to build upon. It is utilizing these previous experiences to provide windows and doors for future experiences. I was driving through our town, and a shop I…

  • Watching a hawk fly by

    Bird Droppings April 18, 2025 Watching a hawk fly by I recall a favorite memory of mine: from five years ago, for the first time in my teaching in public school, nearly twenty years, I was not required to teach to the test, which got me thinking back. Over the years, I have attended numerous…

  • Trying to teach an unteachable child

    Bird Droppings April 17, 2025Trying 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…

  • In the pursuit of excellence

    Bird Droppings April 12, 2025In the pursuit of excellence I was listening to crickets and tree frogs as morning sounds surrounded me with the rustling of leaves in the steady breeze as I sojourned out in the wee hours with a cup of tea. It is a great day to walk in this reality and…

  • I am pondering and researching education while remembering a waterfall.

    Bird Droppings April 10, 2025I am pondering and researching education while remembering a waterfall. It has been almost fifteen years since I stayed at the Sylvan Mills Bed and Breakfast in a room literally over a waterfall. I went up to North Georgia to recharge; perhaps another word might be to rekindle my passion for…

  • Should we question our questions many times?

    Bird Droppings April9, 2025Should we question our questions many times? Yesterday, I was sitting in my computer area after a week or two of articles and innuendos about who and why Georgia students in high school and middle schools across the state do so poorly on certain mandatory tests. These are Georgia’s version of course-end…