Like others have stated, I cannot imagine what these young men have been through. Even the most empathetic among us cannot begin to imagine what it must be like to suddenly have to flee your home without knowing if members of your family are alive or dead. I have been lucky enough to hear one of the "Lost Boys" speak and to listen to his story. It confirmed that I am extremely lucky to have been born where and when I was with the family I have.
I can imagine what they went through. It has been stressful enough getting my parents ready to go on a trip to the Canadian Rockies and the west coast of Canada. I cannot imagine fleeing my home with only the clothes on my back, and
These men from Sudan not only have their traditional stories they want to share, they have these amazing stories of their survival of a civil war, their escape from danger we cannot imagine, and their journey to freedom and new lives in the United States.
The thing that is so clear in this article is the connection between storytelling and story writing is fairly new, especially in some cultures. Throughout history people have been entertained with and by stories. Whether it is the entire village going to hear a story being told, or a child being told a bedtime story by a parent, or hearing our grandfather’s war stories, or about a siblings adventure in middle school, most of us have listened to a story being told, not read.
The thing that I find difficult for my students to believe is that we all have stories to tell. We just have to have the courage to share them to a willing audience. I liked what one of the “Lost Boys” about passing down family stories from one generation to the next and beyond being so important.
Traditionally stories were told within the same culture, orally, in the same language to pass down history, values, and beliefs. Now stories from one culture are told in other cultures often changing events, characters, and issues in the stories to fit the new culture telling the story. There is a Cinderella story for every culture I can name. Some one heard the tale on travels and took it home, adopting and adapting the story to fit their situation.
Stories that were once only told orally are now written down, sometimes in every language you can name, and then some. A book published in New York might be translated and shipped to countries all over the world. These stories are told for different reasons – to inform, entertain, persuade – the reader.
The history and tradition of storytelling is one that we must, as educators, pass on to our students. I tell stories to my students without them being written down, whether it is about my dog chasing my cat, or about when I was in school. And I love to listen to their stories. Whether it is about something their grandmother did or about a trip to Target, listening to the stories our students tell can give us a lot of insight into their lives
We need to make them feel proud of the stories they tell and their ability to tell them. It is vital that they feel comfortable and secure as storytellers.
Caroline Walker
Comments (5)
Caroline, your comments are right on target. Our stories are important. I tend to think that no one wants to hear my stories but that probably isn't true because I love to listen to others tell theirs. I'm always wondering how people came to live in this area from all over the country, what they do for a living and why, where their name comes from, what books they are reading, etc. We should ask one another more about the stories of our lives, especially the children. Then we can teach them how to write them down. I use journals a lot in my classroom and it is a perfect medium for the kids to begin telling about themselves and their families.
Posted by Janet Gross | June 18, 2009 7:27 PM
Posted on June 18, 2009 19:27
You and Janet are so right. Our stories are so important. Now that I am older I wish the art of storytelling interested me when I was younger. There is so much I would have loved to know about my 3 grandparents who passed away. When my Grandpa Fain passed away I learned some of the most entertaining things about him. (Wish I had known it when he were alive.) My father has great stories to tell about growing up in the country just one of 11 children. I LOVE hearing his stories now. I need to scrapbook his stories so they can be read when we are all gone. Our stories are important.
I know in our first grade classrooms children love to tell you stories all the time. Now, using writer's workshop they have learned to put their stories down on paper. They love it. I rarely hear, "I don't have anything to write about."
Posted by Tamera Wilson | June 18, 2009 7:49 PM
Posted on June 18, 2009 19:49
You are right about story telling. It is so crucial for our students to understand why telling stories is important. I think that passing down stories helps students to understand where they come from and who their family was. As teachers we do influence our students and I think that having students complete and assignment where they have to sit and listened to a relative tell a family story would really benifit them. Our children today watch tv and play video games. I think it is important to have other experiences outside of those things and regular studies in school to learn about who you are and where you come from. I would love to hear one of the Lost Boys speak. I bet it was amazing.
Posted by Megan Machuga | June 18, 2009 8:44 PM
Posted on June 18, 2009 20:44
I agree with students needing to know why stories are important and where they came to be. It helps them understand history. Kids today don't realize how lucky they are. Many children all over the world would love to be literate and go to school every day. This is not viewed as a luxury to our students like it is to many children all over the world.
Posted by Kelly Beckley | June 18, 2009 11:17 PM
Posted on June 18, 2009 23:17
I agree that we must help students feel comfortable as story tellers! Being creative in story --written and orally--is a skill that we want all students to have, but often don't give them the time and freedom in school to adequately develop this skill. It's sad! In Davidson County we use the Lucy Calkins writers workshop series. I have fallen in love with it because it encourages students to write about whatever is meaningful to them. My students love it! They are far more willing to take risks and write about meaningful experiences than when teaching the old sentence starter or prompt writing. I hope that writers workshop will continue to foster a love for writing and that my students will one day be excellent story tellers and writers! And since reading and writing walk hand in hand, I will continue to see more and more progress in reading as well!
Jessica Jackson
Posted by Jessica Jackson | June 19, 2009 9:52 PM
Posted on June 19, 2009 21:52