Warren Middle School Students Explore El Camino de Santiago - Figuratively

From Warren Township Schools: As part of a new cultural Spanish unit in grades 7 and 8, students at Warren Middle School recently spent a week exploring (figuratively) the El Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage also known as The Way of St. James.

The El Camino network of paths, trails, and paved roads snakes through Spain, France, and Portugal, ultimately converging at the cathedral of Santiago de Compestela and what is believed by many to be the tomb of the Apostle James.

“The reasons people walk the Camino vary from person to person -- religious pilgrimage, spiritual quest, outdoor exploration, exercise, cultural absorption,” said Alexis Slack who, with fellow Spanish teacher Bernadette Danner, introduced the new unit in mid-October which incorporated history, math, geography, science and health.

Slack’s father, William Miranda, who made the roughly 500-mile trek to Santiago de Compestela in June, spoke to the middle schoolers on October 19 about life on the trail as a modern-day pilgrim.

“I never thought of myself as a pilgrim,” said Miranda. “What is a pilgrim? A person who takes a long journey. Usually something that is new to that person, something that is unknown. Because no matter how well I prepared for it, there were a lot of unknowns that I came across.”

Miranda said he read five books about the El Camino “to try to prepare for it.”

“My friends thought I was crazy. In fact, one friend said he was saying good-bye to me because he thought I would never come back,” he said, about the two-month journey. “But I’m glad I did it. It was a self-rewarding adventure.”

As part of the unit, students answered questions in Spanish about their own hiking experiences before reading aloud a brief history of El Camino, examining maps of the various routes, converting miles to kilometers, and creating a travel brochure to entice would-be pilgrims to El Camino de Santiago de Compostela.

Photo courtesy of Warren Township Schools