All children love stories and I am enchanted when I see the rapt attention I receive from a group of students when I tell them about a story in my life (which I often do).

They are astounded to hear about the year I lived on Big Balcony at my boarding school, exposed to the wind and rain (and how I would store my school uniform at my feet overnight so that it would be warm when I wriggled into it in the morning). They are both horrified and intrigued that I bit a girl in Grade 5 when she and two others pinned me down on the ground, for no apparent reason other than to exert power and how, instead of breaking my spirit, I suddenly felt rage and bit the girl whose arm was closest to my mouth (and was later shamed by the teacher).

 

Stories like these guarantee an engrossed audience and enormous curiosity: they help children make sense of the world and of their own lives. Stories help children deal with difficult emotions and also shows that life can be filled with great joy and beauty.

Words have enormous power. As a Speech & Drama teacher it is my job to ignite a passion for words and
stories from which come meaning and insight. Children can work through their own feelings of powerlessness when confronted with Roald Dahl’s protagonists who are nearly always ruled by evil and manipulative adults (but who also always demonstrate feistiness and intelligence in order to survive); they identify with Ramona in Beverly Cleary’s wonderful series of books when Ramona is always getting into trouble and being misunderstood even when she has such good intentions. It happens to us all!

Poetry, plays and novels all tell stories but in different ways. They have the power to motivate, comfort,  nstruct, illustrate a different point of view, and make us laugh and cry. They broaden our world, sharpen our senses and extend our imagination.

So remember: read aloud to your child and tell your own stories - you are teaching the subject of life, perhaps
the hardest and most rewarding subject of all.