Well, I had just returned from a delightful three day gathering at the
Lilly-South conference at UNC-Greensboro. It was impossible to distinguish between
teachers and learners. Here was a gathering of over 200 academics willing to come out
from their safe place, willing to surrender the security of their place, ready to grow,
willingly accepting the challenge to change.
So, it's time to return to the accusations of the professor from a southern
university. I'm really grateful to this professor's barbs. That may sound strange, but
she has gotten me to think, to reflect and to articulate my philosophy of education, my
vision of teaching, and why I share my experiences. If you remember, she had called my
stories "worthless," "soft," "anecdotal," and, to paraphrase her, Seuss-ish. This was my
response to this part of her earlier message that I sent out this morning.
"It is said that among Native Americans the medicine men ask three questions of
the sick: 'When was the last time you sang? When was the last time you danced? When was
the last time you told your story?' I understand the first two questions. We'd all be a
lot happier with our lives if we could see the delight in dandelions, the wonder in
sunrises, the beauty in a swaying tree, the miracle in a lady bug, and the fun in mud
puddles, and the enjoyment of life itself. But, why is telling your story obviously so
important? My answer is that we each are someone who has learned something and who, by
telling that part of his or her experiences, can benefit others. . It's a question that
asks if you have lived the full width and depth of your life rather than merely its
length, what footprints have you left behind, how is the world better for you having
passed this way, how have you altered the world and changed the future. In this sense,
stories are indications that there is a way or a path that has been cut by someone else's
footsteps. Our experiences, our discoveries, our ideas, our visions are all meant to be
shared if for no other reason than we never live or work or love alone."
"So, to be honest, it is true. I mostly tell stories. I am a storyteller. I
plead guilty. Besides, why should I apologize for being one? Why should I buy into the
myth that our individual experiences, our individual lives, our anecdotal existence
doesn't count in the statistical scheme of things? You want me to reduce myself to a mere
speck? You want me to shirk my responsibility of being significant? You want me to
accept worthlessness? I won't, nor should anyone else. We all tell stories, even you,
because we know we're each worthy of being noticed, because within our gut we know we each
are important and that our stories count. Stories are how we let each other know how we
feel. They help us form our identities, share our visions, break down barriers, build
bridges, forge connections, and spin webs of community. Stories let us and others see
what we're made of in a way impersonal statistics, axioms, theories, generalizations do
not and cannot."
"As I was aimlessly googling the other day, I came across some writings of Ann
Foerst, a theologian who talks of human beings as 'Homo Narrandus,' the story-telling
animal. She proposes that the one distinctive characteristic of we human beings, the one
that separates from all other beings, is that in large part we are defined, shaped, and
revealed by our own stories that live deep in our flesh and bones and mind and spirit. She
says we use stories about how we came into being, how we came to a place, what's our
meaning, what's our identity, where we're headed, how we're going to get there, and what
we've left behind. Stories are the 'why,' as well as the 'how,' 'what,' and 'when' of us.
That is, in my words, we are the stories we tell."
"After watching once again the PBS presentation, "Declining by Degrees: Higher
Education at Risk," while at the Lilly conference, as a teacher, I am more convinced than
ever that I am in the 'people business.' My concern is to see and listen to and deal with
people, fellow human beings, sacred individuals, students, whom too often too many of us
treat as clones of each other. I realize more than ever that the most important work
for me is not writing this Random Thought or publishing a book or giving a workshop or
lengthening my resume. To be honest, as others have noticed, there is something that is
random in my Random Thoughts. It is the sharing of stories powerful enough to remind us
academics that we, degrees and resumes not withstanding, each are an imperfect but noble
person, that we're in the people business, that there are real young men and women out
there, that we not some higher order of human beings elevated there by our degrees and
robes. I share my stories as a call to trust our humanness. When you do, you welcome
student surprises; you're curious about students' differences; you respect them; you
delight in their inventiveness; you nurture them; you connect with them. They, in turn,
will trust you act in their best interests and that you want to bring more good into the
world for them. I share stories in the firm belief that we each carry an inner desire to
make a difference, and that it is essential - imperative! - that we call forth, carry
forth, and put into action that intense desire in ourselves and others ways to do so. I
share to urge you that if you carry this story within you, it is time to tell it, wherever
you are, to whomever you meet, whenever the occasion arises. I share my stories to break
the silence. I share stories to call forth my dream into being and weave it into every
fiber of my being, and to offer others more than a peek at my vision and the consequences
of putting it into daily play. I share my stories to tell you that rather than seeing
students as problems or obstacles, I realize more than ever that there is an innate human
desire for connection, meaning and value in classes and on our campuses.
"The problem, as exemplified by you, is not that you're hard-hearted. I don't
believe that for a second. The problem is that we live and work in a professional setting
where all too often it is impossible to exercise and demonstrate our natural inclination
to be empathetic, sympathetic, and compassionate. Storytelling is suspect and spurned as
intellectually disreputable. That's because too many academics act with a particular
mindset. The focus on subject matter, the emphasis on assessment, the spotlight on
research and publication, and the fearful quest for tenure have an out-of-tune,
"dis-connecting," "dis-heartening" and "un-emotional" impact so that student and teacher
see each on differentiated planes. So many of us see through students as if they were
made of cellophane. So many of us have lost that ability to walk in a student's shoes.
We seldom give ourselves reflective time to define our relationship to our selfs, to our
work, to the college community, and to students."
"You wish to discount 'soft' anecdotes and ban them to the depths of worthlessness
because they deal with the murky things that defy those 'hard' analytical diagrams; they
find the holes of exception in statistics; they go against the current of flow charts, and
they complicate the over-simplified. Stories are disregarded because they disregard and
deviate from "the norm." I am all too familiar with skepticism about storytelling. When
I tell a story or write up a story, I am prepared for a lot of eye-rolling, head shaking,
yawning, accusing, and unread deleting. The academic world is too often a black and white
world in which anecdotal is bad and statistical is good. Ask us academics to stand up in
front of a professional audience and we'll put on airs. Tangles of abstractions,
theories, axioms, numbers, and jargons will spew out from our mouths. Go to a party, a
conference, a coffee clutch, a restaurant, or a meeting, and listen to them informally
talking among each other. Guess what you'll hear from these very same academics? You'll
hear them let down their hair, reveal their humanity, and tell stories to each other.
You'll hear 'did you hear' or 'when I was' or 'let me tell you what happened to me'
stories. We live in a sea of 'for instances' stories. Why? Because analysis might
excite the intellect, but excite the heart it doesn't. Storytelling is crucial to
anyone's search for meaning and purpose. Storytelling motivates people to action with
enthusiasm and energy; it inspires people to enter the unfamiliar and unwelcomed. You
think a cascade of mind-numbing numbers does that? You think a flood of coma-inducing
Power Point slides read boringly by the presenter like a bedtime story to the illiterate
does that? You think a torrent of droll, fact-packed lecture does that? Have you
forgotten what it is that moves mountains? It's not numbers. It's faith that is more
often than not described by a good story. Stories concern the feelings, attitudes,
emotions, and actions of human beings."
"You condemn stories as anti-intellectual anecdotes. You and others condemn them
as 'soft,' 'fuzzy,' 'fantasy,' 'touchy-feely,' 'squishy,' 'emotional,' 'childish.' You
accuse me of contaminating the intellectual world of academia with the pollutants of
emotions and feeling. You call stories 'impractical.' Yet, storytelling is powerful. If
you want to be the light to help show others the way rather than merely a light bulb, tell
your story to yourself and to others. Telling your story will connect you to others.
They'll be more inclined to trust you because they'll know who you are, where you've come
from, why you believe and act the way I do, and that you are there to be in their service.
And so, I need as many stories as possible in my tool box if I want to share my values and
vision to influence the values of others effectively enough to change their outlook,
attitude, and behavior.
"Impractical? A critical step in coping with change is to become aware of your
life story, and the fear and doubts and perceptions and habits that have governed your
life thus far. I can attest that when you uncover your personal story, you've provided
yourself a way to change. We all have an "inner story" that helps us explain the past,
understand what's happening now, anticipate the future. I tell you story after story
demonstrating that it is one of the best ways to communicate with people and to form bonds
among them. It's the story that has the life-altering power, not the numbers of
statistics or the flow of charts. Its stories that make the heart leap and spirits soar,
not rigorous critical thinking and analysis. It's the storytellers who can hold an
audience engrossed in what was being said. If you have a new idea and want to change the
world, if you want to change the minds and hearts of those around you, if you want to
touch someone, tell a story. Tell your story."
Make it a good day.
--Louis--
Louis Schmier www.therandomthoughts.com
Department of History www.newforums.com/L_Schmier.htm
Valdosta State University
Valdosta, Georgia 31698 /\ /\ /\ /\
(229-333-5947) /^\\/ \/ \ /\/\__/\ \/\
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/\"If you want to climb mountains,\ /\
_ / \ don't practice on mole hills" -
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