The daily meanderings of a teacher

Tag: Writing

  • Bird Droppings September 7, 2025An epiphany of sorts on a moonlit September morning  I spent the better part of yesterday avoiding any direction, so intent on the moment I was missing cues to the past and future. It was five years ago that our neighborhood changed. On top of everything, I was worn out from…

  • Grandparenting/Teaching is telling our students and grandchildren; the stories.

    Bird Droppings September 3, 2025 Grandparenting/Teaching is telling our students and grandchildren; the stories. I have been lazy lately. I have been reading over my dissertation, working on a chapter for a book with some friends, but I have not pulled it up in a few days. I am finishing up the first three chapters…

  • Ponderingerest is that even a word?

    Bird Droppings September 2, 2025 Ponderingerest is that even a word? Coming up are some exciting days. One is an interesting yet solemn day marked by dark memories; twenty-four years ago, I started teaching again after a twenty-three-year layoff; thirty-six years ago, we brought a new baby home. So many memories are coming up this…

  • It is about understanding

    Bird Droppings August 31, 2025 It is about understanding I started back to school, and it has been a struggle getting a pace set for three classes and then doing an internship as well. One of my classes is a reading diagnostic class, and the subject of decoding, but not understanding, came up. I read…

  • Being reborn so often takes a religious twist. I see it as listening with the heart.

    Bird Droppings August 29, 2025 Being reborn so often takes a religious twist. I see it as listening with the heart. So often in life, we hear words, rationalize those utterances, develop an opinion, and then logically state a response. I returned to a conversation discussing existentialism with my granddaughter one night nearly eleven years…

  • Can we use the word sacred truthfully?

    Bird Droppings August 27, 2025Can we use the word sacred truthfully? “Teachers who do not take their own education seriously, who do not study, who make little effort to keep abreast of events have no moral authority to coordinate the activities of the classroom.” Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of Freedom I have been a student and…

  • Is it a paradox that sometimes small can be big?

    Bird Droppings August 19, 2025Is it a paradox that sometimes small can be big? August has been a slow month for sunrises, with clouds and fog nearly every morning. Somehow, between the clouds and even in the fog, I have found images worthy of a photo. Finding the tiny pieces within our existence is a…

  • We are only a small part of all that is.

    Bird Droppings August 15, 2025 We are only a small part of all that is. It is often very difficult for some to accept being simply a part of and not the central focus of life around them. I was watching the beginning of the movie Seven Pounds, and in the first scene or two,…

  • Being reborn is listening and seeing with our heart.

    Bird Droppings August 13, 2025 Being reborn is listening and seeing with our heart. So often in life, we hear words, rationalize those utterances, develop an opinion, and then logically state a response. I returned to a conversation discussing existentialism with my granddaughter one night nearly twelve years ago as she cooed and babbled, trying…

  • Reconciling the importance of the present, past, and future to find balance

    Bird Droppings August 11, 2025 Reconciling the importance of the present, past, and future to find balance I spent the better part of yesterday going to a reptile show with Pat to see our son and his wife and their exhibit. On Saturday, I played with grandkids and worked around the house, avoiding my direction,…