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Storytelling

Everyone can tell a story

What place does storytelling have in your classroom. This isn’t just about a personal story but perhaps another persons story that is expressed through an artwork, music piece, dance or theater. Then there is the reciting of poetry or existing stories. Comedian, John Branyan tells the story of The Three Little Pigs as it would have sounded if written by Shakespeare. Consider how this idea might be used in your class.

Warning: This video isn’t for every audiences.

Storytelling in the Arts Classroom

How might you use storytelling?

At the Maine Arts Leadership Initiative (MALI) Summer Institute “Storytelling” was the overarching theme. It was interwoven in many aspects of the 3 days.

Storytelling session led by Jake Sturtevant and Lindsay Pinchbeck

Falmouth High School and MALI Design Team member Jake Sturtevant and Sweetland School founder and director and MALI Design Team member Lindsay Pinchbeck provided a workshop on Storytelling and they set up a Story Corps tent where teachers could visit during the institute and have a conversation, similar to the National Public Broadcasting Story Corps.

We listened to musician and MALI Teaching Artist Leader Tom Luther tell his story of the stroke he had almost a year ago. He worked his way back and to almost full recovery using a ‘beginner’s mind’ and his music.

Brian Evans-Jones and Kris Bisson

MALI Teaching Artist Leader Brian Evans-Jones and Marshwood Middle School music educator and MALI Teacher Leader Kris Bisson shared their story of their incredible collaboration during the 2017-18 school year where they composed a song about an all but forgotten bridge in South Berwick.

Elementary visual art teacher and MALI Teacher Leader Elise Bothel shared her story and research on self-care tools and how they are enriching her life and positively impacting her teaching.

A panel on Leadership included stories from Catherine Ring, co-founder of MALI and art educator, teaching artist and MALI Design Team member John Morris, MALI Teacher Leaders: music from York Middle School Jen Etter, visual art from Brunswick High School Jenni Driscoll, and music from SeDoMoCha school and Maine’s 2018 Teacher of the Year Kaitlin Young. All unique!

Stories in the Leadership session

In a recent edition of the eSchoolNews from NAfME music educator Lori Schwartz Reichi reflects on her college wind ensemble rehearsal when her conductor would pause to tell a story. She wondered why he would take time out of rehearsal to share details of his personal life.

Years later when she started teaching it made perfect sense to her. The stories her professor told were intentional ‘pauses’ in the rehearsal. READ the entire article and learn more about the power of storytelling in the music classroom. (Storytelling has potential in any classroom)!

Tell The Story

Consider this project

In a recent newsletter from the National Endowment for the Arts there was a feature article on a 7th grade photography student from Detroit. What would it take for you to consider doing something like this? Perhaps select one student to highlight, work with the technology yourself or team up with other staff to facilitate. Better yet, look to your students to take the lead and create similar documentation. Have your students help tell each others stories. DonRico Hawkins, Jr. story might inspire you. DonRico’s story and others are pat of a program funded by the NEA called Focus: HOPE Excel Photography program. The video is featured in the new issue of NEA Arts.