The daily meanderings of a teacher

Tag: Mark Twain

  • Why should life be a difficult journey?

    Bird Droppings March 1, 2025Why should life be a difficult journey? “Use what talent you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.” Henry Van Dyke It has been a few years since I visited with my mother, and I walked by my fathers and brothers’ grave…

  • Do more than belonging

    Bird Droppings December 4, 2011 Do more than belonging   It has been quite a while since I was unable to walk out first thing in the morning whether weather or being lazy it was not a good morning to venture out and I think the dog knew it as well and slept in. A…

  • Quietly pursuing silence

    Bird Droppings November 15, 2011 Quietly pursuing Silence I was standing in my back yard listening. There was silence. As I stood how easy is it to find fear and or solace in silence. Many horror movies over the years and of course books for those of us who still read feature silence in all…

  • The Day after

    Bird Droppings November 2, 2011 The Day after “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” Mark Twain I find myself using age to my advantage when the little girl at the register at Kroger asked for senior citizenship or not. I carry my AARP card with pride…

  • Developing a community requires contributions of self

    Bird Droppings September 4, 2011 Developing a community requires contributions of self We have become a world of self centered egotists which I know is a generalization of perhaps a bit too much. In education building an educational school community has consistently been shown to improve schools effectiveness yet we always seem to turn in…

  • Sitting at my kitchen table pondering

    Bird Droppings June 10, 2011 Sitting at my kitchen table pondering I am very much a creature of habit. I like my routines and seem to follow very similar pathways daily. I can understand when walking through the woods and seeing a rabbit run or deer trail I would myself be doing the same thing…

  • Is your imagination out of focus?

    Bird Droppings April 12, 2011 Is your imagination out of focus? “A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery Years ago I saw this quote and as I was watching my own young children with Lego…

  • Ognorance versus the journey

    Bird Droppings August 9, 2010 Ignorance versus the journey “If I want to justify my existence, and continue to be obsessed with the notion that I’ve got to do something for humanity — well, teaching ought to quell that obsession — and if I can ever get around to an intelligent view of matters, intelligent…