I have a lot of soapboxes to stand on when it comes to education.
I mean…c’mon. Just look at the name of my site.
It’s easy to get riled up about things when you feel as passionately I do about teaching, when you have as much faith in public schooling as I do.
One of my soapboxes is storytelling. It’s an incredible medium for sharing text that we don’t give enough credit to. People, the number of things that happen in our brains, big or small, when we hear a story being told? You could track the research here, or here, or here, or…
Aaaugh, I’m doing it again! All right, Lainie. Inhale. Exhale.
Now.
One of my storytelling soapboxes? Using storytelling as a way of crafting narrative. The way I put it is this. Our brains our lightning fast, like cheetahs. Our hands are super slow, like turtles.
When we ask children to write, we tell the cheetah and the turtle to keep the same pace.
No wonder so many kids struggle.
Oral language is that bridge, and it links our thoughts and words together in a manageable way. Think of it this way – how often do you have to talk through a problem to find a solution for it?
Through storytelling, writers at all stages of readiness understand that they hold the power of composition, even if their handwriting or typing skills don’t yet demonstrate it.
And yet oral language largely goes ignored at school, despite the fact that it’s one of the most powerful tools we have.
It’s why I had such a WIN when, a few years ago, I was able to bring a storytelling unit to one of the grades I work with. I crossed my fingers and hoped it would be in good hands with my colleagues.
Boy was it ever. I got the most amazing affirmation of my efforts in a planning meeting today, as teachers discussed their upcoming unit on personal narrative. Here are a few highlights…
Me: This might be a place where storyboarding would be great. It would help your writers use oral language to draft and organize your thoughts.
Them: Oh, we already do that!
Me: I find it helpful to sketch the first and last squares of the storyboard, then fill the action in between to build the story.
Them: Oh, we already do that! You taught us that.
Me: One trick for kids working on dialogue is to make quick puppets out of pencils and let them play with the characters.
Them: Oh, we already do that! That’s what you taught us.
Me: … (smiles inwardly, shuffles feet) …
What do I love best about these exchanges?
1. I love to learn and grow. I feel lucky to see colleagues do the same.
2. It’s affirming to know that things I see as good teaching…ARE.
3. I love making myself obsolete because others have pushed forward.
…I’d probably better stop before I get on another soapbox. Like I said, it’s easy to get riled up about things when you feel as passionately as I do…
Soapbox: The Way I see Things 
There is a reason why we learn to talk before we learn to write. Children have so many stories to tell and sometimes having them write the story down hinders the telling of it.
Exactly! It doesn’t hurt for us grown-ups, either…
This is a great sandbox to stand on! This is something that’s awesome to be passionate about!
I have LOTS that I’m passionate about!
May I stand on a small corner of the soapbox with you? To say STORYTELLING MOVES THE WORLD. It’s at the very core of being human … as evidenced by the oral tradition passed down by generations, across centuries, before systems of writing were developed. How I love this post, your always-vibrant dialogue, and the wit and passion with which you speak the truth. I usually think of myself as more of a storyteller than a writer. 🙂
Absolutely! There is a reason why it’s lasted so long. It IS at the very core of our humanity, and of our connectedness. And…as far as being a storyteller and a writer…I mean, I do storytelling professionally as a freelancer, and I write because I love to. Somehow I feel like they create a Venn diagram in my life.