Learning Lessons: How One Teacher Found Her Way Back to the True Heart of Teaching

by Linda Markley

We all have been lost in our lives at one time or another. We stumble, we fall and we lose our way. So how do we get back up, try again and find our path on our lifelong learning journey?
After a 35-year career, high school Spanish teacher Linda grew so disillusioned with the education system that she chose to leave her beloved profession. Reckoning with a fractured sense of self in the wake of this upheaval, she decided to walk nearly 200 miles across Spain on the ancient pilgrim's path of the Camino de Santiago.
Join Linda on the trail as she follows the Camino's iconic yellow arrows to her destination and faces obstacles both external and blisters, antagonists, the fear of failure and being lost. With each step, Linda must rediscover what it really means to "learn lessons" and rekindle the guiding light within the passion, purpose, and spirit that defined her as an educator.

323 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 2, 2024

Reviews

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two deeply-felt journeys move in tandem throughout this memoir: the lifespan of an American teaching career and the Camino de Santiago. Written from the perspective of a passionate and experienced educator, this book is bursting with facts about the school frameworks that have shaped our time, including No Child Left Behind, and snapshots from along the Camino. Each chapter concludes with exercises intended to prompt the reader to examine and deepen their understanding of themselves and their willingness to engage in lifelong learning. A moving memoir and a great read for educators frustrated with the systems mediating our learning lives.