Are you a Storyteller?

When I was a classroom teacher I was constantly telling stories and I loved it!

Sharing the stories written by many others with my students, with passion.

Fictional stories, funny stories, favorite stories. Stories that rhymed and some that were sublime. (smile)

I also shared the stories of others that were true. Stories from the past and present. Stories that I worked at presenting in a way that brought history alive so that my students could have an opportunity to experience them on a very vibrant level.

When I moved into administration, I continued to tell stories. Some were stories of success. Still others were stories of angst. Stories that were not always easy to tell.

The story of a child from a foster home who was struggling. The story of a child living with a troubled parent who had to be forcibly removed from their home due to neglect and abuse. The story of a family who were going to be torn apart due to deportation.

Difficult to do at times, this storytelling piece. Yet all along, I kept telling stories.

Little did I know then, that during those times of storytelling, I was being prepared, all along, to tell my OWN story.

Storytelling

Most of you who read my blog, know that I’m really invested in the One Little Word project. These past few weeks, the project got me thinking that I need to make a commitment to use my word “create” to consistently tell my story through my work. I want to stay focused on the things that matter in my work and I want to help support others to do the same.

I love the idea of harnessing the power of Storytelling in my work. When I present, blog or tweet, I want to tell my story. I want to be sure that as I support others in the educational groups and social media venues that I work in, that “my story” and passion are clear. I want to choose stories that inspire others, lift them up, get them thinking and maybe even make them smile, as often as I can. I want to tell the story (crafted from my years of service) of my passion to support and mentor teachers, globally, to reach beyond the classroom walls, and “teach with soul.”

How will you tell your story?

New teachers are under a tremendous amount of pressure. So many new things heaped on the plate, daily. But…what if you began to think of those “things” as parts of a story that are being crafted for you. What if you began to see the struggling student, challenging content, and late night lesson planning as chapters in YOUR story? What if you began to tell that story with a blog, journal , YouTube channel or a presentation at a conference?

I love the concepts that have been developed on telling our stories by Michael Margolis. Michael and his team have put together this amazing project Get Storied, which supports people in all walks of life to nurture their lives and tell their story. Get Storied is committed to sharing how storytelling is key to our daily work. Whether you’re trying to redefine your cause, work with a parent or teach a concept to a student, storytelling helps the world understand where you’re coming from.

So how can you put the concept of storytelling to work?

Telling a Story that People can Believe In 

Take a minute to listen to Michael share a little about Storytelling…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5mAuVbsTtw&feature=relmfu]

So what do you think?

The next time you get working on a rubric, report card or parent conference piece…can you smile and know that you are in the process of crafting your story? During those times, working with colleagues, creating that lesson, or struggling with a tech tool, can you challenge yourself to view it as another chapter to your own, amazing, personal story? A story that someday, somewhere, someone will want to hear?

I like the idea of waking up every morning knowing that I have a new opportunity to tell my story. Maybe in a blog post, or a photograph or a tweet. Maybe in a workshop, or in a vlog. Whatever it is, I want to hold fast to the idea that I have an important story to tell and share with other educators. I want to consistently push myself in my work now (as a consultant), just as I did as a teacher, to think big thoughts, and tell my story!

So will you join me? Will you choose to tell your story? I’d love to hear it!

Storytelling links http://goo.gl/XkjCs

Photo:brandoncwarren/3864045424/ CC BY-NC-2.0