What a fascinating study. This has been one of my favorite articles to read. I did not have a lot of background knowledge of the Lost Boys. We do have some in High Point. but it is not a huge number. My husband is a police officer and he has had contact with a few. So, I found Perry's description and background information extremely helpful. As I was reading, it made me think of being in elementary school. Every once in a while, storytellers would come to our school and we would gather in the gym and sit on the floor to be entertained. I loved it. Do schools not do that anymore? An why in the world don't they?
Once again, I found found myself feeling like I have short changed my students. They need to experience the power of story telling. And they need to experience it as the listeners and the tellers.
I was so proud of the young men in the study, and I don't even know them. I could tell by their comments they placed a tremendous amount of value on education. I was impressed by their ability to take their storytelling to the Transformed level. What a powerful tool when you use your voice to open people's eyes to the world beyond the one they live in. Converting their stories to print also allow them to reach a greater audience. After I read the article, I did some research on my own and found multiple articles, appearances and interviews in my own area. How eye opening!
One thing I read really sticks out in my mind. One of the Lost Boys explained that story telling was such a big part of their culture because they gathered together and had more story opportunities. That made me realize that just because our culture does things a certain way, we are not necessarily doing things the best way. We need to gather more. I can remember being a young girl at family gatherings. When the adults used to sit around after meals and just talk. They would reminisce, speculate, tease and pay their respects. To me, they were handing down culture which will always be a part of me. Again, I say storytelling- what a powerful tool.
Carol Sherrill
Comments (3)
At our school for several years we used to have a Native American speaker come and tell the children stories. It was always a wonderful experience for the students, as well as for the teachers. He had such a way of bringing stories to life, it was almost like we were seeing what he was describing. I do wonder why we haven't had him back in a few years and will have to look into this. I think that this type of storytelling is important for our children to hear, it is not something most of them experience in their personal lives.
-Elizabeth Norwood
Posted by Elizabeth Norwood | June 17, 2010 12:38 PM
Posted on June 17, 2010 12:38
I agreed with what you were saying about our students needing to be exposed more to storytelling. I think today it has become almost a lost art and is often forgotten about. I think that we as educators need to expose students students to storytelling and the art form that it is. I also believe though that parents should be telling their children stories. Every night when I put my five year old to bed, we read a book and then she wants me to tell her a story. Her favorite stories by far are the ones that I tell her about events in my life or in the lives of other family members. I don't think I realized how important this was until I read the article.
Posted by Katie Templeton | June 17, 2010 12:39 PM
Posted on June 17, 2010 12:39
I also remember all those gatherings as a little girl when culture was handed down to me through stories. I feel I am cheating not only my students, but also my own children, by not continuing this tradition. How are they supposed to know if I don't tell them? And they want to know! My children always love to hear stories about our family. Those stories aren't in some textbook somewhere, and neither are some of our most powerful teaching opportunities. I definitely need to do a better job of carrying on that peice of our culture.
Posted by Marcia Smith | June 17, 2010 3:50 PM
Posted on June 17, 2010 15:50