As I read this week’s article I was reminded of several different experiences that I have had over the past several years. The first thing that came to mind was a conversation I has with my grandmother this past Christmas. Our family has been going through a difficult time so any time we spend together has taken on a new level of importance for me. As I visited with my grandmother, she began to tell me stories of her time as a child in Germany. She literally came alive as she told me of her grandmother and how hard she worked to take care of her and their family. I couldn’t help but be a little upset with myself as I listened to her because I realized that my grandmother has always told me stories but I wasn’t always willing to really hear them. Now I have this feeling of fear every time I finish a visit with my grandmother – will this be my last visit with her? Are those the last of the stories I will hear? I can tell that she wants me to know as much about her as possible. I’m her oldest grandchild and her youngest grandchild will be born in October, so in some ways I now see it as my responsibility, my honor, to carry on her memory when she does leave us.
This piece also reminded me of the power of purpose. When we teach our students to read and write for purpose, when we give meaning to the reading and writing that we ask them to do, our students engage in authentic, learning experiences. The Lost Boys learned to write and tell their students so that they could show the world what they lived through in the Sudan. They realized that through story they could encourage others to act on behalf of all those who were left behind. Our students have so many stories to tell. My hope is that none of them have stories as difficult as the Lost Boys, but no matter the hardships you have had, they are hardships all the same. Our students need to feel comfortable enough to share their stories and confident enough to know that their audience will appreciate the story they tell. I think this piece makes a nice connection with many of the other pieces we have read because it again stresses the importance of giving our students a chance to find their voice. In telling their own story, their voice is the voice that knows it best. It only takes one teacher to help a student open up and begin to share their story. Once the Lost Boys realized the power of their story, they used it to make a difference. They used it to educate our world so that there will be an end to genocide and hate. The used it because they had a little bit of hope that their voice telling their story just might make life better for someone else. In my opinion the story of the Lost Boys provides a perfect example of the power of literacy. It begins with words on the page and then we tell the story and it becomes an agent for change – I only hope that the Lost Boys continue to write and tell their stories and that more of us begin to listen.
Amie Snow
Comments (6)
My grandparents have all passed away and I have that feeling of guilt you mention. Why didn't I pay attention to their stories? Why didn't I ask more questions? Why didn't I learn to quilt and can and sew?
We all love stories. I assist a first year ELL student in his language arts class this year. Those 6th graders love stories! They have really gotten engrossed in a few of the novels and short stories they have read. However, now that EOGs are looming, there is not much time to enjoy a good story. When you think about it, most of the things teens like involve story. Video games are stories, movies are, cartoons are. So is literacy all about stories? Listening to them, writing them, telling them and viewing them?
Ashley Catlett
Posted by Ashley Catlett | March 20, 2009 9:50 PM
Posted on March 20, 2009 21:50
I really like what you said about students--"In telling their own story, their voice is the voice that knows it best." It reminds me again of how important it is to give students opportunity to speak both literally and figuratively in class. I cannot think of a better way to value the home language of each child than to provide an opportunity for each student to share their stories in such an authentic way. By doing so, we validate both the student's language and life.
Oral storytelling also affords students the opportunity to develop active listening skills. Insisting that students listen to one another also helps them to develop respect for one another.
Posted by Lisa Rasey | March 22, 2009 5:14 AM
Posted on March 22, 2009 05:14
Amy,
Will you send me a quote every week? I am moved by the power of words, and yours never disappoint. So, I first believe I need to wipe my tears from reading your first paragraph, then I can come up with some semi-profound thought.
Tears wiped, not profound thought, just reflection. I wish in my schooling I had been given the option to share my voice. The classrooms I learned in were merely full of pencil and paper activities, rather than learning experiences. I learn so much from others, I wonder now about all of the stories that filled those classrooms that could have impacted those around us--may those I traveled through school with be given opportunities now to learn the importance of voice and sharing our lives. May I change the way education has been delivered and open up the doors for my students' voices to ring out in harmony with their stories.
Posted by stefoni shaw | March 22, 2009 3:43 PM
Posted on March 22, 2009 15:43
First things first. How do you always manange to have an appropriate quote for the readings? Is there a website? A book? Or are you just amazing? I would love to know.
I am glad you realize the importance of listening to your grandmothers stories before it is too late. My mothers parents died before I was born and my fathers parents died before I reached my teens. I was too young to to realize the importance of their stories. I became close to my husbands grandparents and can tell you much more about them than I can my own. I believe that as an adult I realized the significance of their stories and that they wouldn't always be around.
Posted by SuSu Watson | March 23, 2009 4:19 PM
Posted on March 23, 2009 16:19
Amie,
I love your quote for your subject line! I almost used it!
I agree with you about the power of purpose. For each writing lesson that I teach I attempt to reach my students on an even deeper level. I try to turn my teaching into something meaningful, not just 45 minute fluff. There have been days that I have run out of ideas, or something happens and I just throw out a writing prompt. On those days, I can clearly see why purpose is so powerful. When students are writing for no reason, there is no substance. When they are writing about something they really care about, or something that they can really connect to, their writing is dramatic. When students know why they are writing and who they are writing for they achieve so much more.
Posted by Sarah Feinman | March 23, 2009 10:22 PM
Posted on March 23, 2009 22:22
Amie,
Tape your grandmother's stories!!!!
My grandmother died at 99, and everyday I regret that I did not just turn on a tape recorder every time I visited her. She told the same stories over and over and over, so I thought I'd never forget them. I haven't really, but I miss her voice, her cadence, and her way with words. And I wish I had her stories, by her, to share with my children!
Posted by Alecia Jackson | March 25, 2009 4:42 PM
Posted on March 25, 2009 16:42