Bird Droppings March 15, 2013 Many mornings I am told I am rambling I prefer the word reflecting “Think for yourself and let others enjoy the privilege of doing so too.” Voltaire I find it interesting as we listen to politicians argue over who is best at fighting a war in a far off country…

Bird Droppings March 14, 2013 Feeding wolves One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a debate that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two “wolves” inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride,…

Bird Droppings March 13, 2013 As always my journey continues “I have never found the companion that was as companionable as solitude. We are for the most part more lonely when we go abroad among men than when we stay in our chambers.” Henry David Thoreau, “Solitude,” Walden, 1854 There has been an attraction for…

Bird Droppings March 12, 2013 The courage to teach “Teaching, like any truly human activity, emerges from one’s inwardness, for better or for worse. As I teach, I project the condition of my soul onto my students, my subjects, and our way of being together. The entanglements I experience in the classroom are often no…

Bird Droppings March 11, 2013 When leaving a piece is always left behind “All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter into another!” Gail Sheehy, American journalist, author It has been a most…

Bird Droppings March 10, 2013 Can we change things? “Therefore the shortage of effective teachers is not a problem that can be solved by a new structure. It is caused by how we train and manage teachers, and can only be solved by improving the way we do this, no matter what the structure of…

Bird Droppings March 8, 2013 Thinking about Dr. Jung and school reform “If there is anything we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves.” Carl G. Jung Over the years I have seen this with myself, so…

Bird Droppings March 7, 2013 Why 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 I was visiting with my mother Monday evening and I walked by my fathers and brothers grave site or I…

Bird Droppings March 6, 2013 What is it like to be caught up in a moment of quiet? An occasionally coo or whisper on the baby monitor here near where I am sitting is my only sound as I start my morning along with I walking out to a smiling moon and clear sky after…