A Telling Experience is an important part of any educational
"diet." Although I cannot claim to serve all educational
needs, A Telling Experience does make direct connections
to the Standard Course of Study in all grade levels via the Language
Arts Curriculum. Equally important benefits come from exposure
to the patterns of narrative, the sequencing of events, and the
relationships between cause and effect. These help build the
necessary thinking skills for understanding numerical sequencing,
historical and scientific processes, and the functioning of various
systems. Our stories are more than exercises in language and
communication skills. They are experiences in the way the world
works, the values of the society, and the nature of the human
condition.
A Telling Experience is a good time here and now, if only
because we get to spend a brief hour laughing, feeling, sharing
and being entertained. While much can be said about the edifying
nature of storytelling, there is yet another consideration. Imagine
for a moment that our children have no future. A chilling thought,
to be sure. Nevertheless, if we were only concerned with preparing
our children for tomorrow, what becomes of today? What if today
is all they have? Would we not also want the experience of today,
now, the present moment, to be rich and rewarding in its own
right? Never mind the daily sense of urgency to plan for the
future. What is our responsibility to the life experience of
our children in the present? Here is how one student described
A Telling Experience in a classroom writing exercise: