The daily meanderings of a teacher

Tag: Writing

  • It takes more than one strand to make a rope.

    Bird Droppings June 4, 2025It takes more than one strand to make a rope. I opened a Matthew Fox daily meditation, which was based on Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk. Merton’s words were of his Celtic heritage and his grandmother’s family name, Bird. I found it interesting as I know my grandmother’s family came from…

  • Bird Droppings May 17, 2025 Is there a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? “Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Abraham Lincoln Perhaps some people are inherently grouchy in the scheme of things; in Lincoln’s view, they want to be grouchy. Sitting here pondering…

  • Being reborn is simply listening with the heart

    Bird Droppings May 14, 2025 Being reborn is simply listening with the heart So often in life, we hear words and rationalize those utterances, develop an opinion, and then logically state a response. I was sitting in a meeting after talking with my principal about next year, and being a retired part-timer, I am sort…

  • Searching for a flower, the butterfly pea (Clitoria marina), or is it gone now

    Bird Droppings May 7, 2025Searching for a flower, the butterfly pea (Clitoria marina), or is it gone now Interestingly, I had two thoughts earlier in the week as I started the day that made me think of them. One I heard on the radio was that I was going to get some gas in my…

  • Wondering is a powerful tool.

    Bird Droppings May 6, 2025Wondering is a powerful tool. Several years back, we started a school-wide vocabulary of the week during the school year. 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…

  • Can we find learning on the banks of the Chattahoochee River?

    Bird Droppings May 1, 2025 Can we find learning on the banks of the Chattahoochee River? About ten years ago, I was apprehensive as I got up on that morning, taking much longer than normal to get my day started. A good friend had called me and said that he would be in Phoenix City,…

  • I have found a spiritual side to teaching

    Bird Droppings April 29, 2025I have found a spiritual side to teaching “Solitude does not necessarily mean living apart from others; rather, it’s never living apart from one’s self. Not about absence of other people – it is about being fully present to ourselves, whether or not we are with others.” Parker Palmer Dr. Parker…

  • Hunting for the right words on a spring morning

    Bird Droppings April 28, 2025Hunting for the right words on a spring morning “The place to improve the world is first in one’s own heart, head, and hands.” Robert M. Pirsig, American author Whether we are trying to offer a few words of condolence to friends whose loved ones have passed away or trying to…

  • Bird Droppings April 27, 2025POTENTIAL is only a word unless applied “Love is a complex experience which seems to follow no rules but its own. Romantic love can have the power of a hurricane or the tenderness of a soft, wet wind. I have known, too, a chance introduction which instantly and magically merged into…

  • Going to school again for the first time

    Bird Droppings April 25, 2025 Going to school again for the first time So often, as I start my writings each morning, there has been an experience recently to build upon. It is utilizing these previous experiences to provide windows and doors for future experiences. I was driving through our town, and a shop I…