Story Telling

I have always had a great interest in oral history or story telling, I wish I was better at relating the stories I have been told.

I found this web site today The Center for Digital Story Telling , the website is kind of like an answer to what I am looking for.

I have searched for a way for people to express themselves, a way to bring back the art of story telling.

As an educator I know my students have stories, some are able to relate bits and pieces of those stories to me and others. I try every year, to strengthen the writing abilities of these students so they can share the stories they have with others. Some feel self conscious about their writing abilities, I prod encourage, share the difficulties I have in writing. With the use of the stories on this website I think I may have found a solution.

By using a video camera and photographs I can capture the stories these students have and then change them to text. Showing them they have the ability to speak the story they need to write. Now I just need to create the correct motivation to get my students writing their stories.

A few weeks ago a teacher mentioned a writing project he had tried a while ago and wanted to try it again. It called "Ordeal By Cheque" by Wuther Crewe and was first published in Harpers Magazine in 1938. Any way the idea behind the writing project is to use the collection of about 30 checks to create story about what was happening and why the checks were written. The checks are available here and an example of a story written using the checks is at this link.

Besides getting students to use something different to start a story idea, the checks could also be used to work on basic math, algebra and also life skills.

Because the checks were written in the early 1900's a comparison of cost of items between then and now could also incorporate some social studies into the whole project.

So for an ABE/GED instructor this little idea written so very long ago very easily could become a week, 2 week or even a month long learning block teaching all the content areas for the GED exam and also cover some important life skills in the process.

I tried out the project in my evening ABE/GED class, at first the student were not very receptive to the idea but after discussing the first check and sharing ideas about why the check might have been written, how much money was spent, and the difference in prices then and now, the students began getting excited and started their stories. They wrote for nearly 45 minutes in class and I hated to stop them, The stories when completed were quite interesting and unique. Some students used first person other third , the styles of writing were as diverse as the writers. I really enjoyed this little project and will surely use it again.

Last Class

So I'm sitting here watching my students. Tonight is post-test night, the night that gives me proof that I make a difference in the lives of these people. I know they have learned something you can see it in their eyes. I can see that they have learned the ability to question and interrogate what they are confronted with and to look for tools or skills, they now know how to use to solve a problem in a way that works for them.

Anyone that comes into one of my classes, would probably wonder if learning is occurring. My classes are loud and noisy, the students ask questions, they look for proof, they question what they have done and see that even if they have trouble with addition and subtraction they can still solve more complex algebraic equations. They try to prove me wrong and sometimes they do! When I let them J.

My students can use the Pythagorean Relationship! They know what it is for. They know why they might need to use it in real life, even if they never do.

My Students can look at a photograph and know why the photographer took the photo that particular way.

My Students understand proportions, most already understood them and used them all the time, and they just never knew it.

My students have learned that they are teachers also, and that they have something to contribute.

My students are the greatest, and I sadly will most likely not be their teacher next year.

I hope I have given them enough of me, to inquire and question and stand up and disagree or agree.

I hope they have the strength to keep going, to achieve their goals.

I hope that I will not miss the fun and excitement of teaching a class of adults.

I hope the teacher I find to replace me is better then I am, these students deserve it.

This is not the very last class but is very close. We are going to the library for the next class and then finally having a celebration!

Why go to the library? I have taught these students of mine to think. Now they most go out and do it themselves. I have given them a mission to fulfill, and they are on their way. The library is one of the greatest classrooms ever, anything you want can be found in the library, My students will not have class again until September, 3 very long months, They need to keep working, no starting over, I want them to be ready.

I wonder, what will it feel like in September when I don't have a class to teach?

My students next year will be different, my students will be teachers, and I will be too.

Remember

My friend and coworker, I guess I can call her friend; she is a friend to all and enjoys the company of everyone.

Well, My friend Kelly invited me to her home today, to "Main Street in the Chop" as she calls it. We were there for business, but trying to avoid the sterile, offices we commit ourselves to working in most every day. Our fearless leader or coworker, the one that keeps us from falling off the track, the numbers person that can make anything look sensible on a spread sheet, was late, so Kelly and I wandered out to the front yard and down to the dock, Kelly in her outside shoes (visit her blog you will know what I mean).

Kelly was all filled up with excitement, sharing her ideas and dreams of what this little patch of Choptank wants to be. We visited with her friend the Muskrat, "He shot us a look, and slipped beneath the river. Who could blame him, I was an interloper, I didn't really belong there, this place was his and he had shared it with "My Friend Kelly" not me. We moved out to the dock and anointed our feet in the silent waters of the Great Choptank. Kelly chattering on about this place in her dreams, I kind of lost track of exactly what she was saying I apologize now but do not regret, my mind had moved been shocked! Is more like it these waters flashbacked memories more than I can tell.

I remember as a teenager coming to this pleasant little town with nothing but a small marina and boat ramp, I remember paddling and boating across the deep dark water of the Choptank river. I remember traveling from the head waters to where it joins the Chesapeake, many times in my life. In a flash I remembered, I remembered why, I remembered my path, the one I chose long ago, the one that sent me to Florida on a quest to find what I needed to find. I have traveled south and traveled north to Boston and Cape Cod. Somewhere along the way I forgot my "path" I forgot why I was taking the journey I have taken.

In the instant I placed my feet in those cold cool waters, I knew I had a reason, I had a place, I had a plan all along.

So, thank you Mr. Muskrat and I hope that you can forgive our mutual friend Kelly for allowing me to enter your world, and thank you "My Friend Kelly", because the simple thing you did today, the thing you don't even know you did, has brought back a passion for "the river" that I had forgotten.

As we returned to the shore and journeyed up the old main road, now grass covered and recently mowed, Kelly shared her dream of a place where like minded souls could find their place on "The Chop". Her dream is grand and all so great, a place that will be as she wants it to be. I think Mr. Muskrat would approve of her plans.

We returned to find our leader had arrived she had been there for a while, searching for us. We laughed and we joked and accomplished some of what we needed to do. With work finished for the day we returned to the dock, for a short goodbye, the tide no longer allowing us to touch the powerful waters that flowed. Mr. Muskrat was not present, I think he has done his job, at least for me he has, I know, I have remembered my plan.