Where am I? Hontillos del Camino (translation: desolate village without cell phone reception, or something like that.)
How far did I walk today? 20 km / 12.4 miles

I got a late start today, so I only got 20k in. I’m fine with that because today was planned as a rest day, so I’m at least 12 miles ahead of schedule.

It was a day of interesting conversations. The first one rattled me a little bit. There was a 70 year old man from the south, and he was interested when I said I was a teacher. His two daughters teach and his son in-law is a principal. This would have been fine except when he talked about how his son in-law had a terrible time as an administrator in a “black school.” The son in-law took a lower paying job in an elementary school to avoid “getting assaulted and those type of problems in the black community.”

I was upset on so many levels, but what bothered me most was the fact that I did not know how to respond. There are many times that I’m too nice, and this was one of them. I wanted to stop walking and tell him to keep going. I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to do something, but I didn’t believe any of these options would have actually change this 70 year old’s mindset. I played it safe, waiting for the next town and then kept going when he stopped for coffee. I felt like I missed an opportunity to make a statement or teach a lesson, but didn’t know how to do so.

In addition to being pissed at myself, there are obviously several other troubling parts to this story. First, administrators can be threatened, harassed, or assaulted in any school. Also, many of my all-time favorite students (hypothetical of course, because teachers never have favorites…) came when I was teaching a struggling school because of their resilience and commitment to making their school better. And if I was from the south, I’d choose my words more carefully in light of recent events.

But here is the real question: Why do we still have “black” schools?

There is a lot of evidence proving our schools are nearly as segregated as they were in 1954 when Brown v. The Topeka Board of Education was decided. My home state of Pennsylvania has 501 local school districts, making integration across schools a little more complicated. But in this man’s state, all districts are county-wide, meaning diversifying schools should have fewer administrative and legal hurdles. For decades, the legacy of bussing in Charotte-Mecklenberg Schools reduced the achievement gap. I believe students should walk to school when possible, but as fewer children do so than previous generations, maybe we need to rethink some of our priorities. There are no easy answers, and I’ve had very interesting discussions about a controversial redistricting plan in Lower Merion several years ago.

This guy demonstrated ignorance by complaining of “black” schools, but as a society we’re equally ignorant by ignoring the truth that segregation still exists in our schools. When we fail to acknowledge that they are all our schools, we all suffer consequences brought on by inequality. I just wish I had the guts to say so this morning.

Sorry, I’ll step off the soapbox now.

The other conversation was a little lighter. It was really windy today, so I stayed outside as my clothes dries do the rack would not tip over. As I did so, a French man came out to use the pool using shorts that were not quite a traditional speedo, but definitely not the “jammer” model either.

(Timeout: While the other guy was giving me his family story, a guy rode his bike past us wearing a real Speedo. Why? Just … why? I really don’t get Europe at times!)

This 60 year old French guy looked as much of a model of health and fitness as I do. (If you’ve never seen me, that’s a bad joke.) He hopped in the pool for a little while, then he grabbed a seat near me while drying off. He told me, when he was younger, he was in much better shape. Then, he struggled to find the English explanation for the change. He apparently had colon cancer, and needed an artificial rectum. “First it was outside, now, it is inside.”

Sorry again! I know I just ruined your day too. It gets more pleasant – I promise!

He then started to talk about his personal story – less about intestines though. He was a programmer who helped build the original Netscape browser in the 90’s. (If any of my students are reading, this was the predecessor to Mozilla Firefox. No, you were not born yet. Yes, I remember using it.)

His first wife died, and he had four children with her. He remarried and had six more children. Then the “health issues” arose, and the second wife walked out on him while he was ill.

After recovering, he was still traumatized by the whole experience, and asked his mother to watch his 10 children for some time so he could go on the Camino and find a new direction. Grandmom took the kids, and this French man took the long walk from Paris to Santiago.

When he returned, he wrote a book and became a life coach, with a focus on children being the center of any family structure. As non-traditional families become more common, the priority should be less on biological parental status, and more on whether the children are receiving proper care. He got some angry letters from readers, but opened up a school in Paris and two more in Morocco to help parents and families.

He met his third wife online, and proposed to her in an e-mail before actually meeting in person. She was a little hesitant, but his logic was clear – you can’t marry over physical appearance. Some people change with illness or accidents, and we all change with age, so you should not even need to see the person to know if they’re the right one. They met in Paris for a few days, and she accepted. They’re on the Camino together now, this being his fourth time. They’ve been married five years now.

Granted, I’m still not into online dating for a variety of reasons, but it was a refreshing story while my clothes dried. At least it helped me forget how he started the conversation. Or more importantly, it balanced out my other chat.

It’s another reminder how much you can learn about a person as long as you show a willingness to listen. Sometimes you get more details then you want, but usually there is something practical or at least something to reflect on. Everyone has a story, and I’m learning more of them as I inch closer to Santiago.