The daily meanderings of a teacher

Tag: Teaching

  • It is in pondering the questions that understanding comes through

    Bird Droppings March 18, 2025It is in pondering the questions that understanding comes through It has been an interesting start to spring, weather-wise. I have been battling allergies and sinus issues daily, exacerbated by the fluctuating weather, including both cold and hot temperatures, rain, and periods of drought, as well as pollen. When I headed…

  • Engaging and enhancing your curriculum through Story Telling

    Birddroppings March 14, 2025 Engaging and enhancing your curriculum through Story Telling I am sitting at my computer, getting my thoughts together, writing about how to reach students, and thinking about being a student as I just finished my dissertation defense and am now finalizing my paper. So today, a piece of my thoughts as…

  • I am not a fan of the word pedagogy, but my own is evolving as I learn, see, and listen more.

    Bird Droppings March 13, 2025I am not a fan of the word pedagogy, but my own is evolving as I learn, see, and listen more. “We would do away with examinations. They measure the inconsequential type of learning. We would do away with grades and credits for the same reason. We would do away with…

  • A morning meandering while the rain keeps coming down

    Bird Droppings March 10, 2025A morning meandering while the rain keeps coming down Almost ten years ago, after tutoring in an after-school program with a student who needs constant repetition of material to remember, I read through several old emails from my doctoral and graduate cohort friends as some are defending their dissertations in the…

  • Quietly listening to Bob Dylan and pondering the word inspiration.

    Bird Droppings March 7, 2025Quietly listening to Bob Dylan and pondering the word inspiration. My mind wandered back fifteen years or more to a county-wide teacher kick-off meeting. I thought back to 2020 and many teachers still monitoring lessons from computers but not in the classroom. Many communities banned gatherings of fifty or more. With…

  • Is there a difference between progressive and traditional teachers?

    Bird Droppings March 6, 2025Is there a difference between progressive and traditional teachers? In a ninth-grade literature class I co-teach many years ago, I was introduced to the book, Freedom Writers Diary, and the film based on the book. In some ways, the story is similar to the story of Foxfire. Erin Gruell, a first-year…

  • Our teaching can make a difference every day.

    Bird Droppings March 5, 2025Our teaching can make a difference every day. I recall one day that I was looking through data as I sat through a special education training session. This is an interesting situation. I was reviewing data from a recent benchmark test in biology. It is an extremely poorly made and designed…

  • A series of paradoxes and bewilderment

    Bird Droppings February 26, 2025A series of paradoxes and bewilderment I received the following in an email back a few days ago, a friend of mine sent it out, and as I read it the first time it was humorous. However, as I pondered then as a teacher, I read deeper into what was being…

  • I ponder educational genocide as this administration tries to gut education and or NCLB, norming children, only leaves the best

    Bird Droppings February 25, 2025 I ponder educational genocide as this administration tries to gut education and or NCLB, norming children, only leaves the best I was huddled in my Carhart vest as I went outside to chase a sunrise this morning. I stopped along the way to think a bit about the up-and-coming defense…

  • Are we going in the right direction?

    Bird Droppings February 22, 2025Are we going in the right direction? I reviewed my student’s online work status four years ago. There were a couple of surprises and some that were not. I thought that when the virus finally moved on and the smoke cleared, some grades would go up, and some would drop. We…