"We tell ourselves stories in order to live." - Joan Didion
We share our stories in order to survive. Story-telling is uniquely, beautifully human. Our ability to communicate and connect through our mutual experience distinguishes us in our mammalian lineage. We paint our stories, dance them, sing them, act them out. We tell stories, we write them.
Story-telling is civilization.
This week we embarked on our final unit of the Baltimore Renaissance Project, during which I will challenge my students to change their world. Wednesday, we began with a Socratic circle discussion. Why do we need a Renaissance in Baltimore? They talked at each other. They talked over each other. They talked around each other.
They did not talk to each other. They did not listen to each other.
Thursday, we told stories. We learned to listen. Stories are the root of communication, the root of civilization. We recorded their Baltimore Stories. A recording device demands attention. Preservation implies importance: your words matter, let's save them.
Tell me a story... a Baltimore story.
We sat in a circle, surrounding one chair in the center, reserved for the storyteller. One by one, they took they hot seat. They shared their stories.
Baltimore... Me and my friends. I was, like, I was 10, and this boy, Bernie B., right? He was 14. So, we around our way up the hill... we around our way up the hill. We was all on this porch, there were a lotta people on the porch. Lotta people. Then this white car came around the corner - it was a white car... Then they just start shooting. I was, like 10, so I didn't know what to do. I just ran in the house, for real. So like, we all ran in the house, and they shut the door by mistake. My boy little Bernie B. got shot out there. He was 14. And he died out there.
Children are remarkably candid. If you want to hear their stories, you need only let them know you are listening.
My uncle died. He got shot in the head. Some of my family died from drugs. Some went to jail... I don't know what else to say.
My 7th grade boys are stoic, but rapt. Death is casual, too familiar. They never learned how to cry, or maybe they forgot.
Story-telling is civilization.
This week we embarked on our final unit of the Baltimore Renaissance Project, during which I will challenge my students to change their world. Wednesday, we began with a Socratic circle discussion. Why do we need a Renaissance in Baltimore? They talked at each other. They talked over each other. They talked around each other.
They did not talk to each other. They did not listen to each other.
Thursday, we told stories. We learned to listen. Stories are the root of communication, the root of civilization. We recorded their Baltimore Stories. A recording device demands attention. Preservation implies importance: your words matter, let's save them.
Tell me a story... a Baltimore story.
We sat in a circle, surrounding one chair in the center, reserved for the storyteller. One by one, they took they hot seat. They shared their stories.
Baltimore... Me and my friends. I was, like, I was 10, and this boy, Bernie B., right? He was 14. So, we around our way up the hill... we around our way up the hill. We was all on this porch, there were a lotta people on the porch. Lotta people. Then this white car came around the corner - it was a white car... Then they just start shooting. I was, like 10, so I didn't know what to do. I just ran in the house, for real. So like, we all ran in the house, and they shut the door by mistake. My boy little Bernie B. got shot out there. He was 14. And he died out there.
Children are remarkably candid. If you want to hear their stories, you need only let them know you are listening.
My uncle died. He got shot in the head. Some of my family died from drugs. Some went to jail... I don't know what else to say.
My 7th grade boys are stoic, but rapt. Death is casual, too familiar. They never learned how to cry, or maybe they forgot.
They shot him six times.
I was sad...
He didn't have insurance...
They just let him die.
We have one part-time social worker and one part-time psychologist for 400 students. We triage their tragedies.
They just started shooting.... he's paralyzed now.
They stabbed him 8 times. There was blood on the floor... yea, I was crying and stuff.
I started runnin'....
...molested me when I was 6.
My Dad... he got sent to jail in North Carolina. I'm afraid I'll never see him again.
I know how you feel. My Dad's in jail, too. Sometimes it helps me to think about him coming home.
He killed my baby brother.
She did a lot of drugs...
My Dad got shot 6 times.
If I'm supposed to teach them, who's supposed to heal them?
Her head hit the pavement... there was blood everywhere.
When my sister died...
I heard gunshots
I saw him outside my window.
I lost my baby sister...
They have never told their stories before. So, tell me your story, any story.
He was drunk, he didn't see her.
...held a knife to my throat
My Dad told me to hide in the closet.
They took me away from my Mom... they separated me from my brother and sister.
Sometimes I want to kill myself.* Some people are just born that way... It's not right.
I did that. That was me. I called her names. I never knew...
I got a lotta stories. Lotta stories...
* I referred this student to the mental health specialists at my school.
Stirring words Jess. These stories are important to hear, to know that this is going on. I am reminded of something I heard Baratunde say at the InSquared conference that really resonated with me, the students who have to think about and deal with this stuff everyday are spending thought cycles on trying to survive rather than how to succeed.
ReplyDeleteYes, I always relate it to Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Education falls into the self-actualization level. Students can't focus on learning if they're worried about personal safety and other basic necessities.
DeleteWow. I just happened upon your blog and am reading through wet eyes. Very powerfully written - the stories of your students have pierced my heart.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ruth. I'm glad you stumbled upon it :)
DeleteThank you for sharing these young people's stories in their own words. Those quotes are more raw, powerful, and compelling than any analysis of policy or data. I'll be sharing this post with my coworkers and colleagues.
ReplyDeleteJess, very powerful stories that illustrate life in Baltimore from the children's perspective.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing and helping out the city's youth.
Wow, Jess. This is incredible. All too often we get caught up in our busy lives and getting through the day. The difference is that we are pretty certain there will be a tomorrow for us and our families. These children don't have that luxury. They don't know whether their brother or sister will be safe. They don't know if they will see their parents again. They can't hang out with their friends without fear.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this, Jess. Thank you.
Great post Jess. I admire your ability to break down these walls and confront some of these issues and stories with your students. They will remember this as a powerful classroom experience and carry it with them through their educational career.
ReplyDeleteGreat post and major props for including this experience in your classroom. I would just like to add that we must teach our students the value of these experiences; they have learned lessons that few students in montgomery county have access to. Given the right tools, our students are capable of profound insight and maturity; not in spite of, but because of the experiences they have had.
ReplyDelete"We must see scars as beauty... because take it from me, a scar does not form on the dying. A scar means, I survived."
- Chris Cleave, Little Bee
A beautiful reflection, Jess. The problem is we will never have enough therapists and counselors and social workers to serve these children (and the adults they will eventually become) until our society starts to value and better fund the work that we do.
ReplyDeleteIn the mean time, this is a wonderful opportunity for your students to share their stories, be heard and acknowledged, and empathize with one another. They were given a space to express themselves and demonstrate their resiliency. I'm sure it left a profound imprint on them.
--Julia