The Use of Storytelling in the Classroom

Challenge and Selection

As a high school teacher I use storytelling all the time.  I am currently teaching twelfth grade students

at a public high school in Puerto Rico.  The island has not only suffered a major hurricane and an

earthquake in the last years but, is also undergoing economic struggles.  The majority of the students

are economically disadvantaged and see themselves as people who have very little power in helping

their communities better their problems.  As part of the course these students open up and tell me

about the social problems they are facing and worry about.  This is part of the sociological examination

that we have as part of the class.  It is through this activity that a deeper empathy is gained.  These

stories help them identify themselves as part of a greater society and to name the problems that they

would like to work with as part of the class.  These stories also help me identify what is going on in my

student’s lives.

Application

Students tend to come into class talking about different themes.  Usually about things that are

happening to them.  They will even try to get an opinion out of you on what is happening.  Usually a

teacher will cut this conversation off so they can discuss the material at hand but, in my class, these

stories can help the discussion come to a point where they will tell you what worries them.  If you have a

class that is not very outgoing you can also give them a couple of themes to talk about.  It is important

for this storytelling to work that the students do not feel that you are judging them.

The stories will help the students identify with problems that have risen in the community.  It is through

this identification process that they will be more enthusiastic to work since they will see it as something

that belongs to them.

Insight and Approach

Storytelling has become a very useful form for the students to start their investigations since it helps

them gain empathy with different themes and make them their own.  The most important storytelling

lesson is that students empathize with the topic. It is not the same for them to have a theme tha that is

important to them as one that they themselves have identified. This pertinence creates a way for them

to feel masters of the situation. In this situation they also learn that they have the power to resolve their

own situations and build resilience in the student community.

After identifying the problems, they are divided into topics that they care about. Here they will begin to

discuss different ways in which they could solve them. The mind mapping tool could also very valuable

since it would the students organize their different ideas.  The outcome of the event should be one

where all the ideas of the participants can be merged into one.

