Bird Droppings January 7, 2015 Intuitiveness and being there I have always thought that teachers need to be two things intuitive and empathetic. Both require an element of compassion and caring. I wonder often how people teach without these capabilities. Over the last week with several other teachers we have been discussing this in detail.…

Bird Droppings January 6, 2015 The fragility of life Early this morning I was awakened a bit early our dog and we both needed to take a potty break. Hearing what I thought was rain and a teenager I assume tearing out of our subdivision about two in the morning did not help my sleep…

Bird Droppings January 5, 2015 A chill in the air but not in the heart For several days the now we have been below freezing in the early mornings which totally silences the crickets and tree frogs who need an ambient temperature a bit more warm maybe high fifties low sixties. So for today my…

Bird Droppings January 4, 2015 Building Sandcastles drip by drip It was nearly fourteen years ago when I was physically attending classes in graduate school nearly every day and before switching to Internet classes and WebCT. This took some getting used to going to school and then going to teach school. I was teaching from…

Bird Droppings December 29, 2014 Can teachers use learning as their pallet? I wrote the basics of this article nearly ten years ago and at the time was thinking of an artist friend who was trying to define her art as well as searching for her own meaning in life. My friend often reflects her…

Bird Droppings December 27, 2014 Sometimes there is Risk It has been nearly a year since I drove my wife to work and while heading back caught sight of a glorious sunrise beginning. By the time I got to the house I had a few minutes to run in side and get a decent camera…

Bird Droppings December 26, 2014 Where is the passion? I was sitting facing a rising sun thankful for a new day earlier today. It was ironic as I was sitting on an overturned five gallon plastic bucket next to a small circle of smooth river rocks facing east, listening to mockingbird chattering away in the…

Bird Droppings December 23, 2014 Setting the example is such a simple lesson plan “We taught our children by both example and instruction, but with an emphasis on example, because all learning is a dead language to one who gets it second hand.” Kent Nerburn, The Wisdom of the Native Americans I have over the…

Bird Droppings December 22, 2014 Understanding the symbols of life “Symbols express and represent meaning. Meaning helps provide purpose and understanding in the lives of human beings. Indeed to live without symbols is to experience existence far short of its full meaning. Ways of expressing and representing meaning include the symbol systems of mathematics, spoke…