Free Choice: Telling Stories to Young Adults is Important!
Story telling is not just for children. This is a
phrase that can cause many to object. However, I, and many others, believe
stories continue to play a huge role throughout people’s lives. Teenagers, or
young adults, especially question the appropriateness of storytelling as an activity
for them. What they do not realize, however, is that storytelling develops
skills that are essential to personal growth. (Greene & Negro, 2010). Many
genres of literature can help young adults navigate through the challenge that
is growing into adulthood, “These tales give the adolescent courage to explore
his or her inner space- dreams, images, and feelings- and, through imagination,
to construct a self” (Greene & Negro, 2010, p. 175). Literature and stories
can be a doorway and outlet into finding oneself.
Unlike young children, skepticism can be expected from
young adults when it comes to storytelling. The selection of books for this age
group is most important to consider. It is important to make sure the collection
is relevant and meets the interests of these students. Greene & Negro
(2010) list fantasy, science fiction, folktales, suspense/horror, urban legends/myths,
humor, riddles, historic, and realistic situations
to be among the most popular topics of books for this age group. Even though
these students are older, the idea of the “just-right” book, is still a relevant
factor in their love for stories. If anything, it becomes even more difficult
to select books at this age. This is why it is important to be aware of their
interests before telling this audience a story. It can set the mode and engagement
for how the story will be received.
When beginning to tell a story to young adults, it is
important to make listeners aware that storytelling is not just for kids.
Describing the reasons behind storytelling can help young adults to understand it’s
importance. Explaining that storytelling is an ancient art that’s original
purpose was to entertain adults. Greene & Negro (2010) suggest mentioning a
“Tellabration”, which is celebrated in the United States before Thanksgiving.
Using these methods and speaking in an informative tone will help this audience
to feel relaxed. These are not young children, and they should be treated with
the respect that an emerging adult would receive. This is essential to captivating
and engaging with this audience.
Here is a link to a video about the power of storytelling and the impacts it can have on tellers and listeners! It is a great animated visual for understanding the importance of storytelling!
The flow of a program is also important when wanting
to tell stories to this audience. Greene & Negro (2010) stress the importance
of hooking the listeners early in the storytelling process. Starting with
suspense is one way to engage listeners before the story even starts. Doing
this will help to confirm with the audience that this story is, in fact, intended
for them and not little children. It is important that the audience has trust
and confidence in the storyteller to create an authentic meaningful
storytelling experience. It is important to tell a mixture of stories. Lighthearted
ones, but also stories that touch on the issues that teens deal with daily. These
stories will be memorable and meaningful to the listener’s lives. Closing with
humor is suggested by the author to end on a fulfilling note.
Many people do not believe that teenagers have the
capability to engage in and be enthusiastic about stories. With the ever-progressing
expansion of technology, young adults seem to be rapidly moving in a direction
opposite from literature. However, a study by Carol A. Doll (2001) showed the young
adults are very capable of interacting with stories, and even enjoy them. Her
studies showed that students were directly affected by participating in story
times. Voices were developed, cultures were learned about, generational conversations
happened, confidence in telling stories to peers grew, entire classes
participated, skills were developed, oral tradition was appreciated, and so
much more. It is undeniable that storytelling can have a huge impact on students,
no matter their age.
Storytelling can have a monumental impact on young adults.
Having Storytime helps students to develop many skills that are best developed during
this delicate time in their lives. It is essential to make the effort to put
stories into students’ lives. No matter the teenage attitude and angst! There
are so many meaningful ways to engage them, guide them, and tell them stories. Young
adults deserve to be told a story just as much as young children do.
References
Doll, C., Benedetti, A., Carmody, B.,
Reynolds, T., Brantigan, N., Wilson-Lingbloom, E. (2001).
Unleashing the power
of teenage folklore: Research to investigate the power of storytelling. Journal
of Youth Services in Libraries, 14(4), 35-41. https://pascal-usc.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01PASCAL_USCCOL/1brpj2a/cdi_proquest_miscellaneous_57468922
Greene, E., & Negro, J. D.
(2010). Storytelling: Art and technique. Libraries Unlimited.
Michaela,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post and reading this week's articles about the importance of storytelling to young adults. I can attest to this in my own personal life. Growing up, my grandmother always told me ghost stories of the haunted house her sister lived in. I loved listening to the stories under a blanket with her, my sister, and a flashlight. Even as a teenager and now as an adult, those same ghost stories are told to us and I never get tired of hearing them.
In high school, I had the best U.S. History teacher. Rather than just teaching history through a textbook or a slideshow, she would tell our nations history through a story. Each day she would sit in the front of the classroom and share our nations history. It was my favorite class because she told it like a drama and would always end our lesson with a cliff hanger. I loved the class so much, that I almost went into secondary education to teach history. You did a great job connecting all of this week's reading together.
Hi Michaela,
ReplyDeleteI think that your perspective on storytelling for teenagers and young adults is completely true. Even picture books can be used to teach skills like morals and social emotional coping mechanisms. I also agree that approaching adults and older readers with respect is very important if you want to keep the audience engaged. I loved the video that you linked to explain the impact of storytelling. I am going to try your advice of hooking the reader with suspense before reading the story because I think that my students would love it. I recently spoke with another student in this class about using wordless picture books in her high school drama class to teach about pantomime and that is a great way to use it. I would love to hear some of your other ideas for using picture books with older students. I like how you explained the importance of engaging teenagers in literature rather than technology. Thank you for sharing your post.