The daily meanderings of a teacher

Tag: school

  • Bird Droppings January 31, 2026 Whenever I get around teachers, I end up pondering Dr. Carl G. Jung and “school reform.” The answer is simple: CARING. “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…

  • Our perceptions vary greatly about life

    Bird Droppings January 11, 2026 Our perceptions vary greatly about life “Life is 10 percent what you make it and 90 percent how you take it.” Irving Berlin Over twenty-five years ago, I was waiting to return to teaching after nearly twenty-three years in the publishing business. I was anxious. I had gone by the high…

  • Pondering and wondering are such powerful tools.

    Bird Droppings December 30, 2025 Pondering and wondering are such powerful tools. Several years back, we started a school-wide vocabulary word of the week. 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…

  • Looking for synchronous moments

    Bird Droppings December 13, 2025 Looking for synchronous moments Every year for five or so years, I have had lunch during teacher preplanning with my oldest son and a good friend with whom I used to co-teach, and afterward, I walked around the school, visiting with an old friend from the high school where I…

  • A morning meandering while the rain keeps coming down, and no sunrise

    Bird Droppings November 30, 2025 A morning meandering while the rain keeps coming down, and no sunrise Almost ten years ago, after tutoring in an after-school program with a student who needed constant repetition of material to remember, I read through several old emails from my doctoral and graduate cohort friends, as some are defending…

  • A morning meander while the beaver moon is glowing orange.

    Bird Droppings November 6, 2025A morning meander while the beaver moon is glowing orange. Last night, as I looked out at the night sky, I honestly was not sure if the moon was glowing or not. I drove over to the reservoir, and the beaver moon was bright orange. However, I started thinking back to…

  • Watching a hawk fly by as I drove to Athens and the UGA library

    Bird Droppings November 2, 2025 Watching a hawk fly by as I drove to Athens and the UGA library 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…

  • I wonder if you can get moon burn. Trying to get pictures of moonflowers.

    Bird Droppings October 24, 2025I wonder if you can get moon burn. Trying to get pictures of moonflowers. I was up early in the morning, getting grandkiddos ready for school and fixing breakfast for a few extra folks. I remembered I had several seed pods left on my datura plants, jimson weed, and moonflower. I…

  • Caring is a very precious commodity in life, and a few good thoughts from Maxine Greene and Nel Noddings.

    Bird Droppings October 15, 2025 Caring is a very precious commodity in life, and a few good thoughts from Maxine Greene and Nel Noddings. As I was pondering in the early hours today, before getting my day started, several articles caught my attention. Religion and education are two of my favorites. The first was how…

  • It would be great if we could script great teachers or develop a package that truly provides teachers with student learning.

    Bird Droppings October 1, 2025 It would be great if we could script great teachers or develop a package that truly provides teachers with student learning. I have watched several movies about teachers over the years. It hit me as I thought it would be great if we could provide a package for new teachers…