Community Question: The Arts of Language by Kim Deskin, ELA Teacher
Literature, drama, theater, poetry, storytelling, and writing: the arts of language.
As a teacher of English Language Arts at Yellow Wood Academy, I started the school year with a “community question” area near my desk. The tabletop poses questions and invites student and staff responses. The first question, back in September, had to do with storytelling.
Stories have been told for a variety of purposes over time. I found this summary in my own research, and I share it every year with my students.
Across cultures, across generations, humans always need
to explore mysteries of the natural world
to articulate fears and dreams
to impose order in the random, sometimes chaotic, nature of life
to entertain ourselves and others
I presented that bulleted list and the questions: What do you think? Why do we tell stories?
The community responded with moving comments. Honestly, deeper than I expected. Here they are.
Why do we tell stories?
to explain why things happen in life
to laugh
to teach or to explain
to share common experiences
to express something different
to be a better human
to share ourselves
to express the creativity we have bottled up inside
to exist and live
to cover up the lies we tell ourselves…?
to keep them going
to teach lessons and cultural values
to keep hope and creativity alive
because the universe is made out of them, not atoms
because stories are/can be interesting and can have moral values
because we can
I am inspired by the students and staff at YWA. Each one of them--of us--has stories to own. We help each other by reading, by writing, and by listening. Adding art to our own language.
Happy New Year. Celebrate your stories.
