I was fortunate to grow up in a region more beautiful than any place I have ever visited (and I have been fortunate to travel a fair amount).  The Miramichi River region of northeastern New Brunswick in Canada is a generally rural area settled by the earliest European settlers to North America.  The strong Irish flavour of the area is evident in the English-dialect spoken by many of the people.  While I have generally lost the slang, it quickly comes back as soon as I cross the watershed line.  “How’s she goin’ by?”

Dependent on a natural resource based economy – particularly pulp and paper / forest products – the once booming area has struggled as of late, the victim of  increasing competition from cheaper producers in the developing world.  With highly developed transportation systems, the primary consumers from the US east coast simply find it more economical to source paper products from overseas.

I am home “on the river” this weekend.  My son is playing in a baseball tournament that has brought me home.  Simply put, a hectic lifestyle doesn’t give me enough opportunity to visit family here.  Friends aren’t much of a pull, as most of my high school chums have moved away to find opportunity.

Those that have stayed are mostly tradespeople,  doing the latest in a long-distance commute after the closing of the areas five mills, working in employee-hungry Alberta for 3 weeks and returning home for a week.  It’s certainly not the ideal – long times away from family are hard at both ends – but a choice most people live with in order to remain at home in the hopes that a miracle will happen and bring jobs back home.

Every time I come home –  and it will always be home – I have this urge to return permanently.  This time is no exception.  The river has this strange pull, even though there is little here economically.  I have a hard time placing my finger on it – maybe it’s the genuine nature of the people, maybe it’s the natural beauty of the area, maybe it’s the memories of salmon fishing as a youngster with my dad, maybe it’s the sense of community or maybe it’s a bit of all of that – but there is just something very special about the Miramichi.

Having said that, I am also excited about the opportunities to live globally.  My wife and I have been exploring discussions about taking a leave and spending some time living and working in Asia in the near future.  Is there a clash with these two tugs on the heart?

As educators, what does this flexibility in terms of opportunity mean for our students?  How many of them will be able to stay “at home”?  How many of them will choose to?  With the connected global community, how should the story of learning change to prepare our young people to work, play and learn in the world of the 21st century?

One thing is for certain, wherever I may live or visit – and I have now lived away from the river for over 20 years – the “Meer-ma-shee” will always be home.

tags: technology, education, whipple, miramichi, learning

Photo Credit: Rushhour Water Street, uploaded to Flickr on September 4, 2006 by tanker625