“What makes me hopeful is not so much the certainty of the find, but my movement in the search.” – Paulo Freire, (1997)
Our cover is designed with the earth in mind. The creek metaphor illustrates those same moving aspects we can experience in our own comings and goings, erodings and tumblings, drifting, shifting and forming as we learn.
Both words - course and curriculum - spring from the same watery root of currere meaning “current”, or “onward movement”, “to run”, “ to flow”. And often in education we refer to specificity in learning as “streams”. This watery allegory brings us to wonder, What wellspring of wisdom lies just beneath the surface? How do small ripples so widely change the course of our lives? How can we be more reflective in our teaching and learning practice? How does the overflow of ‘too much’ , or the swirling eddies and deep whirlpools - the inner ponderings - mirror those same qualities of river? Heraclitus (6th Century BCE) believed it was impossible to step twice into the same river because both the river and the person will have flowed on… continuing…becoming.
Tribal cultures that are still in connectivity with the natural world, refer to the “self” as becoming, as a streaming part of the larger identity of all things in kinship with animals, earth, and ancestors. They believe we are not just living on this earth, but that we are a part of how it lives, we are living elements of it, therefore, what we do to the one, we do to the other. And as the earth is a living and open whole system, and we are living ‘cells’ within that system, it would follow then that the world is more full when we live more fully. In essence, the world becomes more of its self as reflected through our engagement and presence. There are clues too in the word ‘education’ which stems from educe meaning “to draw forth”. Environmental educator, David Orr (2004) writes that “the earth is inscribed in us, and we are of the earth - shot through with wildness” - and that we must teach to draw out our affinity for all that is alive on the earth rather than just accumulate more facts and data. How can we approach learning in this way?
It is in wild nature that this is best contextualized. There we can more easily re/member where we come from, where we belong, and what we love, by coming to recognize and understand our own ecological and earthy identities – our true natures while in nature! In doing so, we wade into deeper reservoirs of understanding of the ways in which we are each meant to contribute to the world in terms of developing our true vocation and cultural leadership. A more eco-centric approach to learning can create the conditions for us to become part of the larger story as we examine how to bring our unique gifts, while inviting companionship rather that commodification with the world in that discovery.
Imagine drawing forth our natural affinity together in this bucolic learning place - Royal Roads University - a space to… immerse in creativity, learn reasoning and critical thought; social marketing and increased personal, social and environmental responsibility. Or lead and influence environmen¬tal action, understand the value of sustainability, green energy and climate change through the lens of the new The Carbon and Energy Leadership Certificate. Become an organic master gardener and grow wild, organic foods, bee-keep, and forage for mushrooms. Learn about transition towns, career transition and right livelihood. Design a natural home, a cob building, an ecological landscape, with permaculture in mind. Explore Coast Sal¬ish culture and reconnection with the natural world, star-gaze. Become a ‘sound’ leader, an alchemist for change, and learn the brain science behind authentic leadership. Communicate in stories, listen deeply and write well. Seek organizational change through dialogic engagement and poetry, trace your roots, manage your time and energy, tap into your deepest longings and plan for the long run. Navigate global transformation, mythology, integral ecology and counseling as if the earth mattered. Sculpt, paint, dance, drum, photograph, and let the arts inform your research. Draw from body-held wisdom in meditative and somatic practices. Become more appreciative, find hope and resiliency, live lightly and lighten up! Journey to the Galapagos Island and mysterious Macchu Picchu to walk in Darwin’s footsteps or put your feet up and drink in the scenery on a wine cruise in France. Change your diet, your investments and your mind!
Brimming with over 270 short courses, this 2010–2011 calendar is literally drenched with opportunities! This year we welcome Tibetan Buddhist, Reginald A. Ray ( Mar 25-26-27), world renowned poet-philosopher, David Whyte (May 6 & 7), author/poet/philosopher, Mark Nepo (June 3-4), and depth psychologist, author and wilderness guide, Bill Plotkin (July 12 and July 13-17).
The work of these elegant and masterful cultural agents transcends normally exclusive learning realms to offer visionary models of human development toward a deeply imaginative lifestream of vocation and leadership. We hope to cultivate the kinds of courageous conversations that encourage the uniqueness of each one of us to become more ourselves in service to the whole, in a willingness to continue living our learning, together…to confluence and flow on.
Hilary Leighton MEd, Director, Continuing Studies
