May 3, 2020May 12, 2020 Linda Markley

Our Path(ways)

Can do's, communication, creating community, Essential questions, making connections

Like many teachers today, my heart was crushed by a system of mind-centered, data-driven, tech-stressful, competition-focused path of never enough-ness.  We have lost ourselves and the real school spirit in all of this.  Our hearts are broken.  My heart was broken, and as a result, I got very sick and had to leave my beloved profession.  I literally couldn’t stand being in my job any more and my legs would give out on me at any moment.  The doctor tested me for MS and ALS and finally said, “if you don’t get out of that job, you will be in a wheelchair in five years!”   It took three years of physical and mental therapies to get back on my feet, but my heart was still broken.  I was lost, and I felt like my inner compass was broken.  So, I decided to set out on a journey to find my way back home to the heart of my true self. 

As a Spanish teacher, I had studied a great deal about the Spanish culture.  I had always been fascinated with a place in Spain called “Santiago de Compostela”, so, one summer, about twenty years ago, I decided to study at the university there.  One of the courses I had was called “The Camino” and focused entirely on everything related to what is known as “The Way of St. James”, which is a system of pilgrim routes leading to the cathedral in Santiago and the remains of the Apostle St. James.  Most people have come to know about the Camino through the movie The Way, starring Martin Sheen and his son, Emilio Estevez.  I taught my students all about what I had learned about the Camino as I found it was a powerful lesson on the journey of life and how we are all connected.  It was only natural, then, that my heart and inner compass pointed me in the direction of the Camino.  I chose to walk the Camino Francés, but only about half of the +500 mile path  because I didn’t know how far my legs could carry me on such a long and hard journey.  The Camino Francés is broken down into 34 stages, each one anywhere from 15 to 25 miles. It passes through a variety of climate zones and terrain, each with its own unique obstacles and challenges accompanied by a swinging pendulum of emotions:  highs and lows, perceptions of successes and failures, gratification and disappointment, calm and anger, joy and grief, hope and despair.  Even though the Camino started as a path for pilgrims to follow for religious purposes, it has really become a path for all people seeking a way back to the true spirit of what it means to be human:  a path to the heart, the true self and the humanity in all of us.  It is a path marked by yellow arrows that give direction for our inner compass.  Each person’s journey on the Camino is full of personal, meaningful lessons that spark curiosity, adventure and lead us, step-by-step, to the true meaning of who we are and our place in this world.  That is the learning journey of life and the connection that I made after walking the Camino.  Life is all about the journey and not the destination.  It is all about the experiences we have and the lessons we learn from them that make us human.  It is about connections, communication and community.  That is the true human spirit, and that is the true school spirit.

I Venn-diagrammed what I learned on the Camino and what I learned as a teacher in order to create what I call “SPIRIT” lessons.  There are lessons here that will help you move through the stages of your learning journey of curiosity, adventure and discoveries back to the true heart of teaching (and learning).  I have created an acronym for the different lessons of SPIRIT, each with Essential Questions and Can Do statements as well as other resources to support you along the way.  For each stage of the Camino, “pilgrims” must get two stamps in their passport to show at the pilgrim’s office in Santiago in order to receive their “credencial”.  I have set up the SPIRIT lessons in a similar fashion.  Once you have taken the steps to be curious, explore and discover new pathways back to your true teacher heart, give yourself a stamp of “credibility”…not to prove to others what you know, but to give creedence, belief, validity and power to what you know in your heart to be true for you.   

I will be sharing more about the SPIRIT lessons and the teaching journey.  Sharing is a huge part of connection, communication and community.  I invite you to learn more about the Camino here.  In the meantime, I will wish you all a “buen camino” and encourage you to follow the “yellow arrow” on your inner compass back to your true spirit of teaching.  “Ultreia”

Inspirational song