STORYTELLING

CHALLENGE

My line of job is in the academic sector. I teach and mentor young people in government‐owned  universities and secondary schools. Coming from a third world country, the situation is usually quite  bleak, and surviving as a youngster is really difficult, especially for children from very poor family  background. On starting this career, I observed a continuous rise in the number of school dropouts  amongst this population of young people every year, resulting from this growing loss of interest in  going to school. It became a source of concern for me in this particular school where I have been  working as a tenured staff because even kids I would classify as highly motivated were not left out. So,  I became interested in finding out the root cause/s of this problem and how I could be able to assist.

SELECTION

Not really sure of how to commence, owing to their age and inexperience, I felt, maybe, storytelling  at least would be a way to share my personal experiences, with details of how I was able to finish my  education up to getting a masters’ degree in an engineering course from a similar environment as  theirs. On one hand, the idea was to use my life story as a source of motivation and on the other hand,  to draw them to tell stories about themselves, through which I would be able to know their problems.

APPLICATION

First, I had to discuss my idea with the head of the school, as well as in a meeting having the presence  of other teachers and the parents of these youngsters. In fact, it was at this meeting that I got to know  that everyone was particularly concerned about the situation. I was able to secure approval from the  management  of  the  school  to  always  have  a  15  minutes  “talk  time”  every  Thursday  morning  gatherings. Through this platform, I was able to share my story, especially how I was able to survive  being born in a low‐income family. I was also able to invite people who share a similar background as  mine and were very successful in their careers to come and talk with the students about how they  have been able to achieve their career goals. During this program, we did not forget to let the pupils  know the importance of speaking up, especially when faced with challenges that may seem impossible  to overcome‐examples of which may include loss of one’s parent/guardian, financial difficulty, abuse  of any kind, etc. I used this opportunity to share a story of how I lost my mother when I was in school  and how it affected me to the point of almost dropping out of college until I opened up to my advisor  who helped me to overcome the problem. This really made the students a lot more confident about  discussing their problems with the advisors appointed by the school, of which I happened to be among.  By talking with these students, I discovered that majority had lost interest in school because they  lacked real‐life mentors who they could look up to and draw inspiration from. To put in a summary,  one particular student told me that ‘there was nothing for them out there’ after graduation from  college.

INSIGHT

Through this means of storytelling, I have been able to personally connect with my students, especially  in those other things that I would not have imagined could be a problem. Previously, I would not have  thought that the apathy towards school‐related activities could have been hugely influenced by the  seemly bleak situation in my society.  Having found this out, we have been able to establish a network  of successful professionals who now provide all sorts of support systems, which have led to a practical  solution to the problem, not just to my school, but to other schools within my vicinity. This has also  made us think within, such as revising our school curriculum to cover the prevalent situation in my  society. Presently, rather than teaching the students about studying to be gainfully employed, we now  focus more on entrepreneurial skills in our day to day teachings in the classroom. And the good news

STORYTELLING

is that more and more students have started returning to school because there are people who are  always available to listen and provide solutions to their problems.

APPROACH

To be quite honest, even though I was not aware that I was making use of one of the four design  thinking tools highlighted in this course to solve a problem, I do not think I would have used a different  approach considering the demographic age group I was dealing with. Though, I must acknowledge  that if this knowledge had been common, this problem would not have lingered long enough to the  point of causing the students to lose interest in school.


STORYTELLING CHALLENGE My line of job is in the academic sector . I teach and mentor young people in government‐owned universities and secondary schools . Coming from a third world country , the situation is usually quite bleak , and surviving as a youngster is really difficult , especially for children from very poor family background . On starting this career , I observed a continuous rise in the number of school dropouts amongst this population of young people every year , resulting from this growing loss of interest in going to school . It became a source of concern for me in this particular school where I have been working as a tenured staff because even kids I would classify as highly motivated were not left out . So , I became interested in finding out the root cause / s of this problem and how I could be able to assist . SELECTION Not really sure of how to commence , owing to their age and inexperience , I felt , maybe , storytelling at least would be a way to share my personal experiences , with details of how I was able to finish my education up to getting a masters ’ degree in an engineering course from a similar environment as theirs . On one hand , the idea was to use my life story as a source of motivation and on the other hand , to draw them to tell stories about themselves , through which I would be able to know their problems . APPLICATION First , I had to discuss my idea with the head of the school , as well as in a meeting having the presence of other teachers and the parents of these youngsters . In fact , it was at this meeting that I got to know that everyone was particularly concerned about the situation . I was able to secure approval from the management of the school to always have a 15 minutes “ talk time ” every Thursday morning gatherings . Through this platform , I was able to share my story , especially how I was able to survive being born in a low‐income family . I was also able to invite people who share a similar background as mine and were very successful in their careers to come and talk with the students about how they have been able to achieve their career goals . During this program , we did not forget to let the pupils know the importance of speaking up , especially when faced with challenges that may seem impossible to overcome‐examples of which may include loss of one ’s parent / guardian , financial difficulty , abuse of any kind , etc . I used this opportunity to share a story of how I lost my mother when I was in school and how it affected me to the point of almost dropping out of college until I opened up to my advisor who helped me to overcome the problem . This really made the students a lot more confident about discussing their problems with the advisors appointed by the school , of which I happened to be among . By talking with these students , I discovered that majority had lost interest in school because they lacked real‐life mentors who they could look up to and draw inspiration from . To put in a summary , one particular student told me that ‘ there was nothing for them out there ’ after graduation from college . INSIGHT Through this means of storytelling , I have been able to personally connect with my students , especially in those other things that I would not have imagined could be a problem . Previously , I would not have thought that the apathy towards school‐related activities could have been hugely influenced by the seemly bleak situation in my society . Having found this out , we have been able to establish a network of successful professionals who now provide all sorts of support systems , which have led to a practical solution to the problem , not just to my school , but to other schools within my vicinity . This has also made us think within , such as revising our school curriculum to cover the prevalent situation in my society . Presently , rather than teaching the students about studying to be gainfully employed , we now focus more on entrepreneurial skills in our day to day teachings in the classroom . And the good news STORYTELLING is that more and more students have started returning to school because there are people who are always available to listen and provide solutions to their problems . APPROACH To be quite honest , even though I was not aware that I was making use of one of the four design thinking tools highlighted in this course to solve a problem , I do not think I would have used a different approach considering the demographic age group I was dealing with . Though , I must acknowledge that if this knowledge had been common , this problem would not have lingered long enough to the point of causing the students to lose interest in school .