I met 26 year old AJ on the plane from Dallas to Nashville in early September 2010. I asked him what he did for a living and he told me that he just received his Masters Degree in teaching through a Teach for America program. He was to start teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) in the inner city of a large metropolitan city the following week.
We discussed the profound economic and social challenges his children would bring to class every day; challenges that would overshadow their desire/ability to learn in his class. He felt he needed a strategy for making his class an oasis for these children; somewhere they could feel safe and actually look forward to attending everyday.
I suggested he begin each class with a short story to engage their minds and teach them important principles; building blocks that would help them get through their challenges. Perhaps a “values in action” story that would demonstrate how to put these learned tools to use in every day life. Or stories of salvation, sacrifice or mercy. Perhaps he could summarize some of Aesop’s fables and get them excited about English literature. We discussed how a good story would include principles of love, hope, integrity or purpose and how it would be best if he were able to anchor these stories in their curriculum. I suggested that if he began each class with a story, the students would be sure to be on-time, everyday.
AJ was on his way to a family reunion in the Nashville area where he would see his large extended family including his inspirational grandmother, the matriarch of the family who had plenty of stories to tell. I suggested to AJ that he use some of her stories, repackage them and deliver them in his class. Just as AJ was inspired by seeing himself reflected in her stories, he could inspire his children by telling them her stories.
AJ felt like he received a gift through our discussion. He saw how his teaching would now include much more than what he learned during his masters program. He would now teach out of his experience and use the context of his entire life to bring purpose and context to the lives of his students…through storytelling.
What’s Your Story? How can you use it to inspire others?
