The only encounter I have had with storytellers was an older couple who came once a year to an elementary school I taught at. To be honest, they scared me to death! They were older, dressed very eclectic, and looked like people who should be in a copy of Alice in Wonderland. I would just look at them year after year and wonder where on earth they were the other 364 days of the year. I NEVER say the out at the post office. Regardless of their unusually look, they told the most fascinating stories. The entire gym of 400 students sat in amazement as they would dramatically tell the tale. Their talent amazed me, and left me wondering how did they ever learn such a craft?
In the article, Perry introduced an entire new perspective on storytelling. The scope of storytelling for me was simply, tell a story you have read or heard. Looking deeper, Perry broadened that scope to include …”imparting culture from one generation to the next generation…” Community elders were using storytelling to pass community history and traditions on to the younger generation. In this light, storytelling is no longer just for entertainment, but it now serves as a form of education. As teachers we ask our students what they believe the author’s purpose is for a particular piece of writing. It can be to inform, entertain, or persuade. Storytelling can be seen in that same way as well. Stories can be told for entertainment, or to inform. Literacy doesn’t have to be in print. Oral literacy (storytelling) has a place in schools and has an impact on a child’s overall literacy development. Many students coming to school today lack an amount of “book language.” This can be from lack of reading at home, exposure to materials, and verbal interactions with others. The rich language that storytelling encompasses could close gaps in children’s book language. Today’s society has limited the amount of face to face oral interactions. With the increase in technology, communication has morphed into quick factual statements that don’t encourage strong word choice or lead to higher order thinking.
The Sudanese noted this was the only form of communication they had. Once they became refugees they had to adapt their communication to include letter writing. I wonder how some of those first letters looked? While the mechanical part of the writing was difficult, I am sure the voice and content of the letter was amazing. We know a student’s oral abilities are stronger than their written abilities, however I am sure the vocabulary and language patterns they were exposed to, formed a strong foundation for them moving forward with print. For their culture as well, they viewed storytelling as a form of education. This shows how serious they viewed language and how necessary it was to existence in their society. If we had such a focus in our society with language, imagine how different early elementary would be for students.
Equating stories as a badge of family membership is powerful as well. I don’t believe such membership exists for Americans. We have many unwritten rule about behavior in society. We have family traditions, but nothing or maybe very little that is written down or passed down orally. The value of language has not been paired with family traditions and society rules. In that aspect, I believe we are very robotic and “cold.” Our sense of community could be deepened through the use of storytelling.
Changing the perspective of storytelling from entertainment to education was an eye opening moment for me. When Bok pointed out his view that “It was my opportunity to educate the other students about a country they hadn’t even heard of….”, the power of language was revealed. Language was not being used for conversation, but was leaving a lasting impression on someone and was changing their thinking and knowledge forever. Language can do that and it is our job to foster such opportunities in our classroom.
Michael Lemke
Comments (3)
Micheal
I loved what you said about how if our students had the same drive and desire to learn how different our schools would look. I find myself with mixed emotions when I think about this. I believe in order for our students to feel this drive to learn they must have faced a significant hardship in terms of the availability of education. I don't want our students to be taken out of school or have school be a dream of theirs. However I wish there was a way to take the views of education that these young men have and give it to our students.
Posted by Katie Templeton | June 17, 2010 12:51 PM
Posted on June 17, 2010 12:51
Storytelling happens in my family when we are sitting in the kitchen or around the campfire outside. The stories usually make us laugh until we cry and those are my favorite moments with my family. There is such a sense of belonging to my family, but not my community. Michael, like you said storytelling in the U.S. occurs in family traditions and not in communities. I think this storytelling could be transferred to our classrooms to help with a sense of belonging. At the beginning of the year, students could think about experiences they have had at school or what they did over the summer. Then they could talk to a partner about the experience. Once they are finished talking with their partner, they could share stories orally in front of the whole class (if they feel comfortable) throughout the first week of school. I think this could really benefit those younger students who are still learning to write and it could be really entertaining for older students. Usually when students share, other students will make connections or identify with them. While students are sharing, each student could be jotting down ideas that they connect with, which could be possible writing topics for the school year.
Trish Edwards
Posted by Trish Edwards | June 17, 2010 4:49 PM
Posted on June 17, 2010 16:49
First of all, I have to say that the beginning of your critique was very funny. I think you have a lot of storytelling skills yourself. As far as students go, I like the fact that you brought up PIE(persuade, inform, entertain). Often our students think a story can only fall into one category. Perry's research proves otherwise. The boys learned to tell their story, but in different ways depending on who they were speaking to and the purpose for their storytelling. What a great idea for teaching our kids author's purpose. You could have them retell a personal story and decide how they would vary it depending on the purpose. Thanks for the spark Michael!
Posted by Sally Elliott | June 17, 2010 6:32 PM
Posted on June 17, 2010 18:32