Recently I just finished Appalachia North by Matthew Ferrence. In it, he recounts the complex relationship he still has with the land as a Northern Appalachian. Typically when I finish a book I write a Literature Appetizer to get people a taste of what they will find. Since his book is such a personal journey, I would not do it justice by recounting his life.
Many of his experiences reflect my own experience growing up in Western PA. So instead of condensing his journey, I thought I would condense mine.
The Hero’s Journey is a common literary structure where the hero of the story departs home to do a great act, and then returns victorious. My Northern Appalachian Journey is a bit different, but has a similar structure of three parts; Living in Water, Succeeding by Leaving, and The Mountains are Calling.
Burnout is a serious issue among educators. It is also a serious issue among those studying the Climate Crisis. During my time on the Left Coast we had many discussions on how to prevent burnout as Environmental Educators.
While I stand behind everything I have said on this blog, over the past year my tone has become more and more frustrated when talking about the planet. I noticed the signs of burnout, and set about the following courses of action:
