The daily meanderings of a teacher

Tag: William Stafford

  • It is in pondering the questions that understanding comes through

    Bird Droppings March 18, 2014 It is in pondering the questions that understanding comes through It has been interesting this spring, weather wise. I have been battling allergies and sinus issues daily between cold and hot and rain and then not enough rain and the pollen. When I headed to school today I had been…

  • Have we sold our souls for a few trinkets?

    Bird Droppings March 17, 2014 Have we sold our souls for a few trinkets? Morning is a special time for me always a new beginning. That might be far too easy of a way to say what I am trying to say. Today I went out a bit early from the house to take out…

  • Learning is a journey strewn with boulders

    Bird Droppings January 13, 2014 Learning is a journey strewn with boulders “In a word, learning is decontextualized. We break ideas down into tiny pieces that bear no relation to the whole. We give students a brick of information, followed by another brick, followed by another brick, until they are graduated, at which point we…

  • Walking and listening among the Cotton Woods

    Bird Droppings January 12, 2014 Walking and listening among the Cotton Woods I walked outside earlier as I do many mornings listening observing trying to understand this reality I am walking about in. The sky was almost bright this morning with a very faint moon still hanging around and a few wisps of clouds were…

  • Can we say true heroism and humility are spelled the same?

    Bird Droppings January 10, 2014 Can we say true heroism and humility are spelled the same? Even though I am one of the worst spellers in this local area I know heroism and humility are technically spelled differently. I will concede to using words to come up with a perhaps catchy title for my daily…

  • Caring is a very precious commodity in life

    Bird Droppings January 9, 2014 Caring is a very precious commodity in life As I am pondering my early hours today before heading to the local Super Walmart all night everything store I read an article dealing with charter schools and how they exclude many students. The air temperature is chilly outside and we are…

  • Horses and Trains and learning

    Bird Droppings January 8, 2014 Horses and Trains and learning It has been many years since I last rode on a train. I mean a serious train going more than the distance between concourses at an airport. Years ago when I lived in the Philadelphia area, we all used mass transit to commute, to go…

  • Intuitiveness and being there

    Bird Droppings January 7, 2014 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.…

  • The fragility of life

    Bird Droppings January 6, 2014 The fragility of life Early this morning I was awakened a bit early our dog and I both are getting old and 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…

  • A chill in the air

    Bird Droppings January 5, 2014 A chill in the air 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 orchestra was silent as a…