As I read this article, I thought about how stories impact my life. I believe myself to be a storyteller. I was interested by how this article distinguished between the different reasons people tell stories. They tell stories about personal experiences to explain themselves. People tell stories for social reasons, to learn something, or to teach others about society. I tell stories to make connections. When I was sitting around with a few friends at dinner tonight, we were sharing stories so we could make connections with each other. I just did it again! As the article pointed out, storytelling differs across cultures, a point that I reminded myself as I found myself making connections with the students identified in this research study. While I tell stories to for social reasons, Ezra, Chol, and Francis tell stories to educate the world on what is happening. I feel that this is both a skill, and a challenge, as it is hard to recall such difficult memories and put them on paper or easily express them to an audience. Meanwhile, if your audience is not one that you have complete trust and comfort-ability with, it is even harder.
I found myself impressed with Perry as she had worked hard to earn people’s trust in the community. Due to the time she spent with the people, and learning about their culture, she presumably got very honest perspectives and feedback from the people she was interviewing. I thought about myself (typically an open book!) and still, I will only share certain pieces of my life with those that I feel most comfortable with. Knowing this, it is important for me to form a trusting relationship with my students so they feel like they can open up to me about the stories in their lives.
Getting the stories in their lives on paper, like Francis, Ezra, and Chol did is beneficial for many reasons. First, people write their stories to capture the memory so that it is locked in one’s mind as well as on paper. Second, stories can generate interest among a wider population, and on paper, it can reach a wider variety of sources. Also, one can speak to people outside of their culture, to others that might not have the same understanding but do have the desire to learn. These students explained how their parents told stories, but their teachers read the stories. As a teacher, I can contribute to spreading an understanding of different cultures if it is written down for me. I would love the opportunity to experience every culture first hand and bring it back to my students but let’s be realistic…on a teacher’s salary? ☺ Therefore, it is important for people like Ezra, Chol, and Francis to write their stories down so we can help share them.
-- Carrie Brown
Comments (8)
Carrie,
Stories do impact our lives! I have noticed that when I begin telling my students a personal story, they become instantly engaged in what I am saying. It happens every time I tell a story to my students. We can be reading about sea life and and soon as I start a story about seeing a shark the students all listen very closely. It can be any story; when I first learned to ride a bicycle, something one of my pets did, an encounter with a mouse or a lizard. They always give me their total attention. If I could only teach everything in a story!
I used to work with a teacher, who has since retired, that had a story for just about any subject. She was always interesting to chat with and I loved listening to her stories, just like her students.
Any time we can make those text-to-self connections with our students, it can help with comprehension. If you haven't shared a personal story with your students, try it, and observe how well they pay attention. It's amazing!
Posted by Carol Holt | June 17, 2011 11:09 AM
Posted on June 17, 2011 11:09
Carrie, I agree with your statement about Perry earning the trust of the Sudan refugee community by becoming an active participant in their culture and country. These men felt safe telling her and others their story because they knew their audience was sympathetic. As a teacher, I want my students to always feel safe to express their ideas and thoughts in our classroom community. I have always shared some of my personal life with my students but now I will share even more so they will feel comfortable in sharing their personal stories that can turn into authentic reasons for writing. I think the author's purpose is a very important part of writing and through storytelling in the classroom we may achieve more meaningful literature from our students.
Posted by Michelle Carlson | June 17, 2011 12:30 PM
Posted on June 17, 2011 12:30
You discussed the potential difficulty one could have if they do not feel comfortable or trust their audience. This made me think of students in every classroom. If students are expected to share their thoughts and ideas, whether it be verbally or orally, it is the teacher’s job to ensure that they are in a safe learning environment. I believe that this is why so many teachers begin their school year speaking about the importance of respect. Students need to feel as if they are in a safe enough environment to share their thoughts and personal stories with their peers.
Posted by Stacy Durham | June 17, 2011 1:33 PM
Posted on June 17, 2011 13:33
Carrie, I think I may be one of the oldest in this class. My grandparents have passed on, my father as well and many aunts and uncles. Many years ago we used to get together as a big happy family and watch old home videos. I would listen somewhat to the stories but remember being impatient to get out and play. My grandmother would also tell me family history and things she had experienced in her life and I valued that. I regret however, that I did not slow down long enough to really listen and learn and then my opportunity was gone. My wish is for our children and students to listen and learn to those that know history and culture best, their ancestors. Listening and passing on is truly a wonderful way to learn.
Posted by candace kee | June 17, 2011 2:18 PM
Posted on June 17, 2011 14:18
Carrie,
I appreciate your insightful comment that we need to build an open relationship of trust and communication with our students if we expect them to open up to us. From the article, I noted that we need to make sure we don't force children to tell their possibly traumatic stories...it is not therapeutic for everyone. However, I hadn't really thought about how we can help draw out these stories by building our relationships.
Posted by Andrea Schlobohm | June 17, 2011 3:43 PM
Posted on June 17, 2011 15:43
Carrie, I couldn't agree more with your statement that when we write down our stories reach a wider group of people. Thinking back to my past I wish many of the stories that I heard from my grandparents over the years would be on paper. I would love to pass the history of my family along to my future children as my grandparents have passed on, but many stories have gaps as I have forgotten parts over time.
Posted by Anonymous | June 17, 2011 5:05 PM
Posted on June 17, 2011 17:05
It must have taken a lot of courage for Francis, Chol, and Ezra to share such personal stories with the world. I keep many stories to myself, and some I share with only a chosen few. While their pasts were tragic experiences, they felt that the world needed to know what they had been through. The truth...not what they have been 'told', but to be able to sit and read about their personal experiences on paper. We want our students to share personal stories with us, but how do we create that relationship with each one of them, and with such little time? Any suggestions?
Posted by Lisa Beach | June 17, 2011 10:56 PM
Posted on June 17, 2011 22:56
This article really opened up the "definition" and "purpose" of storytelling, didn't it! What a great post you crafted here to explore all the different reasons that storytelling is vital!
Posted by Dr. Jackson | June 20, 2011 11:29 AM
Posted on June 20, 2011 11:29