I have been thinking about storytelling lately, not the
Beauty and the Beast type of storytelling, but the kind of storytelling that
comes from teachers which reveal who we are and about WHY we do this
thing called teaching every day! I
don’t think that all teachers really think they have a story to tell. They feel that they are just regular,
ordinary people, who do their best everyday and then go home. I used to think that too when I was a
teacher, but because I was encouraged to step out of my box and be a leader, I am now in a position as a principal to encourage and help others
find their “why” and then to move forward and do this most awesome
work that we call, teaching. I have talked with
teachers about being leaders, and what I am finding is that many do not think
they have what it takes to be a leader.
They do not feel that others would find anything that they are doing to
be noteworthy. I disagree!
I just watched a TED-ED talk by Drew Dudley on, “the power
of storytelling”. In his talk he says
that there are “lollipop moments” where you did something that inspired or
changed someone else and you did not even know that you did something extraordinary
until someone comes back to let you know what you did for them. I think
teachers have given many “lollipop moments” and they are just not aware of the
power that they have been given to inspire and help children be better people
by just having that small word of encouragement or providing that listening ear
that says to a child that they are going to make it.
I want my teachers to find their story and know that they
are at the center of the greatest work on earth and that is educating our
children in all areas not just academics.
I want my teachers to know that as they cultivate their story they help
to make the culture of our school better and even change areas of our culture
that need to be changed!
Christopher Bronke wrote a blog piece that I found on the
Teaching Channel entitled, “Leading Out
Loud: Teacher as Storyteller”. Mr. Bronke says, “At their core, teachers are
leaders. And when the “leaders” of a
school realize this fact and empower teachers to help enact change, welcoming
them into the STORY of their school, the impossible becomes the reality, the
unimaginable becomes the routine.” He
goes on to say, “teachers are leaders because they’re at the center of the
humanity within the work; living in and yet simultaneously crafting the story
of the school, the narrative of the culture, and this is absolutely essential
because the reality is this: a story
entertains, it engages; it endears us to others; it enrages; but most
importantly, it EMPOWERS. Without the
story, we’re left with blank slates.”
He states that there are five ways a teacher leader can use
storytelling that has the power to change a culture and to also ensure that the
work we do everyday as educators is not only valued but treasured by all those
that have a part in it. Here are the
five ways:
·
to inspire
·
to share
·
to engage
·
to comfort
·
to affect change
This all leads me back to why I started this journey looking
at how storytelling can make us better people which in turn will make us a
better school for our children. Our
theme word for this year is ENGAGEMENT.
If our children are not engaged in the learning then what is the
point? One way to engage our kids is by
using stories that help set the foundation to get them involved in the
instruction by inspiring their curiosity and love of learning. The ultimate goal would be to have a teacher
be able to connect and inspire through storytelling and sharing of themselves
in the lessons they teach. My goal then
is help/inspire/influence my teachers to find their own story and know the WHY
that supports what they do. I think
that before I can ask them to find their story, I will need to find my
own. Drew Dudley in an interview I read
said the following that really resonated with me, “so again story telling is
the basic unit to human understanding; so, be sure that you know what your
story is about. Make sure you figured it
out, “What the lessons that you’ve learned from that story are? and eventually
be willing to share it because we will never understand ourselves, and we will
never understand each other if we do not share out stories.”
To storytelling…..stay tuned!
Cindy
Links to some of the blogs and TED-ED talk that I just recently used to help start this journey called storytelling.
The Power of Story Telling - TED-ED talk by Drew Dudley:
Interview with Drew Dudley:
Christopher Bronke - Blog on Teaching Channel:
Lisa Hollenbach - Blog on Teaching Channel:
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