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Dr Michael Downey |
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Consultant, Author ,Workshop Presenter, Retreat Leader, & Teacher
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The time in between Christmas and the New Year is a good time to ponder. I have been pondering how happy my grandchildren are, and the gratitude this provokes in me. They are lucky to live safe and secure in the loving embrace of an extended family. They are also lucky to live in community on a very beautiful mountain top hamlet. Our beautiful environment grows beautiful things. A friend arrived to visit for a couple of days. Sharing a glass of wine before I prepared dinner, he said, “Wow, you are so alive and happy”. I already felt this, but his observation still caught me unexpectedly. There is an ancient principal, Anima Mundi, which means “soul of the world”. Ancient and traditional peoples, and Archetypal Psychologists, all understand that our own spiritual well being involves the connection to the Anima Mundi. It’s not loud and dominant, but we too easily lose this connection in our constant over-busyness. It’s what Richard Louv calls, Nature Deficit Disorder. Luckily, the remedy for this is effortless. Really! We don’t have to “do” anything. We just need to slow down and relax in the arms of Nature. Here’s to holidays. 
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 I was caught completely unawares when talking about career paths with student teachers I was supervising, a couple of years back. I was told more than once, by promising young teachers, that they had no intention of becoming a teacher after they graduated. They would use the skills expertise and for something else.
In each case I thought the young person had some promise and I told them so. As it turns out, the workload, the administration demands, the pay, the stress and the lack of appreciation teachers lived with, just didn’t make a teacher’s life attractive. Ironically, these young people also recounted how rewarding they had found their experience working in schools. While I was saddened by this, I also admired their clearheaded pragmatism. I wondered if their unfolding life journey might one day bring them back to a classroom. These young people had understood some of the things that contribute to good teachers burning-out in their work. With Covid restrictions easing, I have been talking with school leaders about Formation programmes for the coming new year. What these leaders see as significant challenges reminded me of my student teachers. The last two years have added to the stress, complexity and intensification of teachers work. Formation is about nurturing and sustaining those who use their gifts in the service of education. Ongoing Formation creates opportunities for teachers to flourish. Their work is good and noble. It’s important to keep perspective. |
AuthorDr Michael Downey is an Author, Teacher, Consultant, Retreat Leader & Workshop Facilitator. , Archives
December 2021
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