LOL, ROFL, BRB, TTYL, TTFN, CYL8R…These are all quick text acronyms that are used fairly often in today’s technology driven world. Everywhere you go, you see people listening to their Ipod’s, cruising through Facebook, Myspace and Twitter. There’s texting, Skyping, talking on a cell phone. When was the last time you have sat down with a “real” person and had a “real” conversation?
I am one of these “techies”. I find myself putting technology above and beyond many things in my life quite often. I have to prioritize what needs to be done so I can “reward” myself with a new Itunes download or a check on Facebook. As I read through “From Storytelling to Writing” by Kristen H. Perry, I realized that Americans as a whole, are in this technology craze day in and day out. As I thought about Ezra, Francis and Chol, I realized that I needed to slow down and take more time with my grandparents. In my life, this generation of family members is the ones who still tell stories in an oral way. I tend to share stories on my Newsfeed via Facebook. As I have become older, I realized how important it is to sit down on a lazy Saturday or Sunday afternoon to visit with my (remaining) grandparents. I learn about how life was for them in the “olden” days. We share experiences through oral stories. Just like the Lost Boys, I see how sharing stories verbally preserves my family’s traditions and ideas.
I find it interesting to observe my students with this idea of technology over personability. I imagine 13-15 of my students already have cell phones, Facebook pages and Myspace pages. These students have never functioned without the use of technology. Have these students ever really sat down with a family member and shared any personal experiences? Do they know where they are truly from? I carry this idea with me as I look at our generation today and can’t help but think, “When or where will be the end of storytelling orally?”
I know now that this is where the teacher in me will set in. In our ELA curriculum in 5th grade students are to learn about Folktales and Tall Tales. I know that I can pass this practice of oral storytelling along through the reading of these genres of text. Students can create their own tales, based on family values, culture and ideas. Through the use of great text and a little practice, I believe that the art of storytelling can be preserved, it is just going to take a lot more than it used to!
Renee Hennings June 17 2010
Comments (5)
I am guilty of the same things. I sit on my computer night after night working on projects. I talk on my cell phone each day as I drive, and I can't go a day without texting. The person that suffers the most while I do this is my daughter. With my busy schedule I feel that my daughter is getting the least amount of my time. I am going to make it a point to discuss more about my past with my daughter. Unfortunately I didn't have the opportunity to get to know my grandparents, but my parents and my husband's parents are still alive. I am going to insist that they tell Lindsey about their childhood. I want Lindsey to experience storytelling first hand. Pam Aubuchon
Posted by Pam Aubuchon | June 17, 2010 10:09 AM
Posted on June 17, 2010 10:09
How true it is that technology plays a huge role in our world today. I find that even in third grade, not so much My Space, yet, but phones and video games. Students spend so much time with their Xbox or Playstation that it is hard to compete for their attention. It seems without the flashing lights and constant action you cannot keep their attention anymore.
Don’t get me wrong I believe technology is a wonderful thing, which has opened up so many opportunities to advance education, but it has made it difficult in some ways to keep students interested in the classroom at times.
Technology is not the reason for the loss of storytelling. I believe the art of storytelling is being lost because families do not value it as they did in the past. Now people watch TV when eating dinner, instead of having conversations about their day, asking what their children learned in school today, this has been replaces with whatever is on TV at dinnertime. This is not the fault of technology but the fault falls on parents who do not take the time to listen and share.
I personally do not have cable television. We do not watch the news and sitcoms. My husband and I decided several years ago that life is too short to park our children in front of a TV and let it educate them. We do have computers and my children do have videogames, but these come with limits. I want my children to know our story, and my time is the only way for them to get the stories and know about our history.
Posted by Tracy Icenhour | June 17, 2010 10:30 AM
Posted on June 17, 2010 10:30
I have done the same things you are talking about. I spend time on Facebook catching up on what my friends have been doing during the day if I have finished everything I need to have done at the end of the day. I also have, many times, just texted someone to ask a question instead of calling them and having an actual conversation because it is more convenient. I can multi-task while texting at home whereas I may not be able to if I was on the phone. Yesterday a friend of mine died, and I realized that more of our conversations lately had only been through text. What a shame, because I will never again get the chance to actually hear her voice. I think we need to put more effort into connecting to people on a personal level rather than through technology.
-Elizabeth Norwood
Posted by Elizabeth Norwood | June 17, 2010 12:46 PM
Posted on June 17, 2010 12:46
Yes, Renee I just sent you a text about the copies we need for another class. You know that I am new to the art of texting and that I have been texting for almost a year! I do it to keep up with my young adult children and friends. Some adjustment in spelling and grammar are needed and I am finally OK with IDK or BEER-MOON-4. I was watching www.foxnews.com and the newest craze is called Naked Girls Reading! Yes! It’s like a play, but the ladies disrobe, sit in chairs and read. (I think it is free choice reading)! Text me later.
Elizabeth Achor
Posted by Elizabeth Achor | June 17, 2010 3:49 PM
Posted on June 17, 2010 15:49
RU4 Real? Ha-ha! I too am caught up in the craze of technology. It is great though that even the older generation is getting into this craze. I have a neighbor who is an elderly lady and has a Facebook page. She uses it as a storytelling output. She constantly puts excerpts from a book that she is writing…There needs to be a happy medium for sharing through technology and sharing face to face.
As for sharing the Folktales and Fairy Tales…I have truly enjoyed sharing these stories with my students this year as well. It seems that students enjoyed these types of stories best. We focused on the lessons taught by the stories and the reasons why that these stories were created. Story telling is an art form that we need not to lose a handle on. We need to teach our students that they too can create these stories and learn from ones that their parents/grandparents can tell them.
Posted by Angela Steele | June 18, 2010 10:29 AM
Posted on June 18, 2010 10:29