As I read I found that I couldn't even imagine how difficult their lives must have been as children who had been orphaned and were struggling just to survive. For them to have the strength and courage to travel through the desert for hundreds of miles, some even 1,000 miles, is amazing. I also found their stories to be inspirational. They not only struggled early on, but they used that struggle to push themselves to acheive all that they wanted to in life. They didn't just "sit around" waiting for something great to happen or pity themselves like people often do. They worked hard and earned their degrees and are spreading their stories for the others who were left behind. I want to learn more about their stories and their lives. I plan on reading at least one of the texts mentioned towards the end of the article.
For Ezra, Chol, & Francis, they are continuing the tradition of storytelling that their ancestors have carried on for generations, just in a different way. They have written their stories down so that hopefully they'll never be forgotten. Now they have the opportunity to spread their message to the world, hopefully causing others to take notice and set the wheels of change in motion. Just as I didn't know anything about this, I am sure many others didn't know as well.
As teachers, it's vital to our students' education that we allow them to share stories about their lives outside of school and their families' cultures and traditions in order to see the child for who they really are and get the "big picture." It will allow us to reach them and engage their interests. Having students journal and then allowing them to share with their peers allows them to do this. Also, setting aside time for them to share verbally with their peers is equally important, especially to those students who aren't very comfortable when they write.
We should also provide opportunites for our students to experience hearing storytellers by having members of the community and even parents come to school and share their stories. We have had career day, meterologists, and authors come and share, so why not a storyteller or someone with firsthand experience to share their life experiences with children?
Reshawna Greene
Comments (4)
I agree that journaling is important. I also think that as an assignment I am going to have parents tell the student a story at least one per nine weeks. Then the student can write the story down. Then they will have a written product to keep, as well as an oral telling of the story. I am always looking for ways to get parents and students to interact with their homework. This would serve two purposes. I think that our job as educators is to keep storytelling alive for future generations. When I taught fourth grade narrative writing, I shared stories about my childhood with my class orally before writing anything down. Sometimes they were funny and sometimes sad. The children saw emotion and real life experiences through the stories I shared with them. This helped them to make a personal connection with the writing process. I also was very impressed with the determination of the Lost Boys. Often we give up if anything goes wrong. What impressive role models they are.
Amy Reep
Posted by Amy Reep | June 16, 2010 4:47 PM
Posted on June 16, 2010 16:47
Language is so much a part of who we are, how can any student hope to fully express themselves, articulate who they are and what they think, if they do not master reading and writing? I can’t help but think how an education helped to shape these young men’s lives and allowed them a voice to share their experiences with the world. Their lived were impacted in such a way that they wanted their own people to have the same opportunity to learn to read and write.
-Rebecca Ashby
Posted by Rebecca Ashby | June 16, 2010 7:37 PM
Posted on June 16, 2010 19:37
Rashawna,
I am so glad that you brought up how hard working they are. I had thought of that, but not the way that you did. :) I completely agree with you. I think that the Lost Boys could have sat around and felt bad for them but they didn't. That shows how courageous they really were. That's how I want my students to be. I think that if our students had the will and the want to learn like the Lost Boys they would accomplish so much. I think that we should all share the stories of the Lost Boys with our students to show them that if they work hard and put their mind to it they can accomplish amazing things!
Posted by Natalie Enns | June 16, 2010 9:04 PM
Posted on June 16, 2010 21:04
I agree that we need to allow our students the opportunity to share their lives in any way they are comfortable. I think some of our students are reluctant to share for various reasons, maybe the biggest being the fear that they will be judged in how their stories are presented. I love the idea of allowing them to orally tell stories . That will take so much pressure off those whe have a difficult time with written expression. It would free them to really think about who they are and realize that they are all such an important part of the larger community. I will definitely try to be more encouraging in the use of oral storytelling in the classroom.
Posted by Linda Bohland | June 16, 2010 9:11 PM
Posted on June 16, 2010 21:11