This article shows the true spirit and determination of the Sudanese refugees! The "Lost Boys" showed a tremendous amount of courage and intelligence. These boys have been through a struggle in their life. They seemed to be lost not in their mind but in their country. It is sad that a country would not care about their youth and future!
I was impressed with Perry research and the connections that he made with the “Lost Boys". Perry took the time to listen and therefore helped the refugees of Sudan find themselves in America. The Sudan boys were able to take their storytelling a form of oral literacy and transform it to something important for their culture and future in America.
The boys talked fondly in the article about storytelling in their culture. It was their way to past down family history and the culture of their people. Capps and Ochs (2001) stated that story telling facilitates the philosophy of life and blueprint for living." Storytelling reflects culture and shapes identity. The Sudanese people learned of identity and family from their elders and storytelling. This is not unlike many of the practices in the United States. As a child I can remember family members telling stories of when they were a child. My grandmother would often reflect on growing up on a farm and what her schooling was like. She would relate her personal experiences to us and compare then and now. That is also what the Sudanese people did with oral story telling.
When the Lost boys arrived in the United States they wanted to continue storytelling. The traditional storytelling had to transform due to the fact that elders were not able to take on the role. The Lost Boys took on the role of story telling. I believe their role of story telling was more valuable than previous traditions. The Lost Boys were taking their experiences and transforming story telling to facilitate change. They told stories to inform others about their circumstances and their experiences. The Lost Boys also facilitated change in the form of story telling. Traditionally storytelling was oral. Now the Sudanese Refugees were communicating stories through written language. Literacy meant power for the Lost Boys and it also faciliated change for them in a new society that they were learning to assimilate into.
I think that the "Lost Boys" should great strength they were able to take their experiences and share through storytelling to facilitate change. They were also able to keep their strong sense of culture and identity.
I believe that we should do more storytelling in the classroom. It can be a very powerful tool to allow students to share experiences and transform those experiences into written stories that can be published. Everyone has a story, as educators we should use storytelling to promote literacy development.
Angie Somers
Comments (4)
Angie,
I was also impressed with Perry's interaction with these young men. You could tell that there was a special relationship between the researcher and these three youths. She wrote with a tremendous amount of respect for their situation and the stories they had to share. I especially liked that she included the autobiography by Chol. It was such a good example of how how his oral language had developed into written word and shared the personal struggles he had endured. I was unsure about the length of this article to the subject but once I started reading I was hooked.
Posted by Candy Mooney | June 18, 2010 12:26 AM
Posted on June 18, 2010 00:26
I love how you embraced the positive aspects of this study. I too was in awe of the Lost Boys and their study. Their desire for education is inspiring. Students in the USA can learn so much from the stories others can bring to our country. I can relate to your upbringing and the stories your family shared. I will never be able to forget that my dad had to walk to school uphill both ways in the snow. It made me realize I need to encourage my children to actually listen to the stories family members are willing to share with them. It seems like listening is such a difficult skill for my own children and my students. They don't want to be still and they do want to do most of the talking. They are missing out on so many ideas and perceptions from others. I find it very difficult to compete with tv and video games.
It makes me wonder how to help them find the joy of listening to the tales of others. Any suggestions?
Posted by Carol Sherrill | June 18, 2010 7:50 AM
Posted on June 18, 2010 07:50
Angie,
I was very impressed with the social interactions that this article brings about as well. I think that too often, as was mentioned in my own posting, we tend to isolate ourselves from our work and studies, but this researcher goes beyond that whilst still remaining within the confines of professional research. I felt like this author was comparable to a good teacher, caring yet professional enough to get the job done.
Insightful as always,
William Byland
Posted by William Byland | June 18, 2010 7:53 PM
Posted on June 18, 2010 19:53
It is difficult for students and children to sit and listen. I think that it is something that children have forgotten how to do or have not been taught how to do. Storytelling now has to battle with tv, computers, ipods!! You name some kids have it. My son sometimes gets involved with stories that my dad will tell him usually the stories of some gross nature beacuse that is just what 11 year old boys like to hear. In the classroom I believe in give students time to share ideas and things about their family. That may promote more storytelling in the classroom. Maybe storyteller could be a classroom job. You have a new storyteller each week, the story teller gets to tell as story about themselves or their family. You could write down their stories and make a class book. Just and idea?
Angie Somers
Posted by Carol | June 18, 2010 10:38 PM
Posted on June 18, 2010 22:38