As I was reading this article, I was intrigued by the shift these young men had to make with storytelling. In their home community, storytelling was an oral form. As they shifted to the camp and on to America, they were "forced" to become literate. I say forced because they knew being literate meant power. And power for these young men was incredibly important. It meant freedom. Also, the example of the message board board indicates why becoming literate was essential.
It seems as though they thought they had no choice but to become literate. One said that it was important for the oral stories to be written down so that others could find them and read them if they were from the same community. Tradition and history are important to them as it identified who they were and what they came from.
After reading an article, I always think of ways I can use it in my classroom. This article confirmed what I already believe to be true. Students lives must be a part of their literacy. Without connections learning is meaningless. Oral story telling is also incredibly important. So often we get wrapped up in the whole writing process that we forget the beauty of telling stories orally. Today I listened to one of my students use a voice for a stuffed polar bear I have in my room. Her imaginative play was a way of storytelling. It was nice to hear her talk about why he wasn't cold (because of his fur and thick skin) and why he was brave. She may have just been "playing" but that was her way of connecting her knowledge.
In another course, we talked about creating "camp fires" for classes to sit around and tell stories. I think this social interaction is essential. Students need to learn how to speak to one another, in addition to learning how to write an amazing piece of work in 45 minutes.
Sarah Feinman
Comments (5)
I absolutely love the idea of a campfire. Something so simple would excite our children. I can see my children begging to go to the campfire to tell stories everyday. Children love to talk and be the center of attention. Storytelling would not only give them this opportunity but also teach them important skills. I will have to work on making a campfire area, maybe even outside, we'll see.
Posted by Amy Spade | March 21, 2009 2:24 PM
Posted on March 21, 2009 14:24
I have given quite a bit of thought to what was mentioned about the Lost Boys being "forced" to become literate. There are times when I am frustrated because students seem to be so unmotivated to learn. At the heart of it all, is the falacy that they do not need to learn, that they will be "OK" in life with very limited skills. I suppose this is one of the curses of living in such a land of opportunity. I don't like to generalize but even the most disadvantaged child here in the USA has more opportunities to learn than most other children in our world. And, unfortunately, a person who does not want to succeed can "get by" without facing so many of the problems of simple existence encountered by people in third world countries. So why do some of our students lack the necessary motivation to learn? This thought prompts me to consider how important my role is as teacher. No matter the circumstances outside my classroom, I must create an environment that motivates. I have to construct a "message board" of sorts that makes it meaningful for my students to learn.
Posted by Lisa Rasey | March 22, 2009 6:03 AM
Posted on March 22, 2009 06:03
Sarah,
Your post just has me thinking. Is "literate" synomous with expression? Is becoming literate the same as learning to express yourself? Is it that simple? So, each of us is inherently literate, it is just putting voice to our thoughts. Those that are unmotivated may be those who have been taught they are unimportant or have no voice. There is a root to everything, so for the Lost Boys their root for storytelling was multi-leveled. They wanted to get their plight out for others to learn from, to carry on their traditions, to expose the life they endured. If someone in our classrooms is choosing not to express we need to attempt to uncover the root. Most likely, those that appear unmotivated are the ones crying the loudest silent scream for help! The campfire idea is marvelous! Everyone seems more likely to share in the dark when no one is specifically watching them! Interesting----
Posted by stefoni shaw | March 22, 2009 3:51 PM
Posted on March 22, 2009 15:51
Sarah,
I remember when I taught 1st grade the stuffed animals were a neccesity. Personally, I was always blown away by how much my students knew when I would "eavesdrop" on their stuffed animal storytelling. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to my students retell a story that we'd read or tell the stuffed animals about a real life story about them. There were plenty of times when those stories were written on a piece of paper.
Posted by Cherrita Hayden-McMillan | March 23, 2009 10:08 PM
Posted on March 23, 2009 22:08
Sarah,
Your point about learning to speak, tell stories, and listen well is so important. I think the article validated the importance of storytelling to culture and identity, but you pointed out the other aspects of literacy: speaking and listening. Thank you for reminding us of that!
Posted by Alecia Jackson | March 25, 2009 4:36 PM
Posted on March 25, 2009 16:36