The first thing that came to mind when I began reading this article was the movie, The Lost Boys. I remember the characters in the movie being teens that had left home to become one of the missing, the lost. The Sudanese teens that this article refers too are similar. They have lost everything. Their family was taken from them in war, they were forced to decide to lose their homes or become a slave/soldier, they even lost their land. The only thing these boys could bring with them and keep from their culture seems to be storytelling.
In the article, the boys discuss how oral language was more important to their culture because written language didn't fit into their tribal culture. When they traveled to the refugee camp, the written language taught was what was used in the country they were located.
I think that storytelling is more appreciated in other countries. Many countries have tribes or different languages spoken. When traveling from one area to the next, written language could change dramatically, so storytelling is a way to still communicate.
Storytelling is also a way for people to share their history. Due to oral language being more popular than written language, the way history was shared was through storytelling. Even in America, people still sit around camp fires or in living areas with family and friends sharing events and memories. Recently I watched a documentary on people from the Western North Carolina (mountain people as they were called). Many of these people spoke of the importance of storytelling in their community. This was how they shared their lives because many of them still were unable to write. You would think that these people would be similar to us (they live in the US where life is modern) but they are actually years behind what is typically found where we live. Their language is still behind what we consider normal, speaking as my great grandmother used to speak.
I think that storytelling is important in any culture. Now, we share stories and history through books. We have written language that allows us to pass down history and memories that are important to us. We still share stories orally with family and friends. Other countries share stories orally because that is a part of their culture that is valued.
I think that teachers can use the art of storytelling to connect a classroom of students. Kids come from different cultures and are mixed together every year in a class. It would be great to have a day at different times during the year where each child was allowed to share in storytelling. The teacher could explain what storytelling was and give the students an example and then allow the students to share (even extending the activity into a writing lesson). I think this is definately a type of literacy that we do not want to get lost in the hustle and bustle of todays fast paced life!
Comments (3)
I have been reading a lot of blogs, where we all seem to see that storytelling doesn’t exist in the U.S. You just showed us from the documentary that it is still occurring. The places that it is occurring are places where people do not leave. There is probably something sociological going on with these groups of people. I think it would be very interesting to see the documentary. As for the rest of the U.S. you are right about storytelling does occur, they are just in books. Just think, we are able to read so many more stories because we don’t have to just rely on our memories. If we forget a part we can just reread. The books also allow us to learn about so many more cultures.
Trish Edwards
Posted by Trish Edwards | June 17, 2010 9:19 PM
Posted on June 17, 2010 21:19
I love your idea of having a storytelling day or time set aside in the classroom. I can remember during my internship when I was working in a K/1 classroom up at Beech Mountain School. It's your typical western North Carolina school full of appalachain culture. We had one student in the classroom who was such an exquisite storyteller. This little guy had such a vivid imagination and was so captivating to the other children along with the adults. As I progress in my teaching career, I have seen fewer students who are able to create stories such as this child. Perhaps incorporating time to practice the art of storytelling will combat this.
Posted by Nikki Leggins | June 17, 2010 9:44 PM
Posted on June 17, 2010 21:44
Oh to have time back to talk with my Grandparents! None of my grandparents are still living…How I missed those rich family histories shared at Christmas around the fireplace. These Sudanese teens got to experience this almost daily. Their cultures rely heavily on this oral storytelling, so much in fact, this young generation was responsible in passing their tribal stories to a new generation…Will this newer generation appreciate the stories as much as these teens? Do they know the rich tribal/family ties that they share in these stories? Through folktales we are able to show our students little connections to this “why something happens” sort of story. If we don’t take the time to share these stories they soon can be lost as those are in my family. I take advantage of when I am around my husband’s grandparents, because I know that these stories will be lost if we don’t find some way to share them. Sharing can be through oral stories, written stories, or even a webpage…just don’t let them get gone!
Posted by Angela Steele | June 18, 2010 11:06 AM
Posted on June 18, 2010 11:06