Interactive Storytelling Blog Post 3

 Reading Reflections Post 5

Note: Istock by Getty Images, n.d.

One of the things I thought of this while reading, this week was the phrase coined by educator Emily Style (1984) of “windows and mirrors” where she discussed the framework and importance of building an inclusive curriculum. One group of this week's articles discussed the value of children experiencing intercultural encounters and having a shared understanding, where the concern is placed on more participative encounters that allow children to experience an increased awareness of themselves and others.

 

I thought it interesting that in their article, Piipponen and Karlsson (2019)  identified the importance of the quality of the interaction between the participants of the intercultural encounter versus the focus of comparing and contrasting one culture to another that tends to take place in many exchange type programs.

The Storycrafting method the authors speak of allows the intercultural participants to share different types of stories, personal experiences, stories intended to entertain, stories intended to challenge, or stories from shared experiences, where children primarily guide the experience, instead of the teachers. They also note that the role a teacher takes in the Storycrafting event can impact the way in which the children will view the experience, when teacher lead, it was looked at as an academic experience in which they graded or critiqued their international partner. When the teacher encouraged a more participatory culture, the children started to create a shared narrative with their counterparts, creating a more meaningful exchange between the two cultures.

A book I read last week, speaks simply to intercultural interaction. Even speaking different languages, the ease and joy children can find if no one is telling them to judge.

           Words to Make a Friend: A Story in Japanese and English

by Donna Jo Napoli

A quote spoke to the author of one of the articles of the week. It spoke to me as a person, but also as a soon-to-be librarian that may well be responsible for the selection of stories my patrons have access to, the recommendations I give to them, but also maybe for how I tell the stories of the projects I'll work with in the future.

“For each of us, life is a story. There are characters, conflicts, plot developments, crises, interludes, twists, and resolutions. Sometimes the story make sense; sometimes it doesn’t. But there’s still value in the story itself, even when you can’t add up the parts and understand the whole. A good story can lead you toward insight—perhaps wisdom—regardless of whether or not you fully understand it. Maybe that’s why storytelling has always been so important to me” (Myers, 2008, 282).

I believe it also speaks to those people whose stories we are willing to select, read, or promote, versus the ones we leave because they will cause conflict or we don’t understand them or don’t have the same viewpoint. Those stories don’t have less value and somebody, some child, some student, somewhere; NEEDS that story. It resonates with their life, their experiences, their culture.

Grisby (2014) works hard to put programs in place that foster independence in students. She believes that interest drives learning and that it is more important to teach students independence in their book selections and book interests than it is to label books with color-coded stickers that indicate text difficulty and the appropriateness for certain readers or the AR or Lexile levels. I think our goal is to teach children to be curious, look for themselves, and ultimately, to be independent thinkers. I think her programs work to support that goal.

 

Note: Novikov, Sergey, n.d.

Program planning (a part of which must be marketing) is integral to program success and possibly, program and library continuation. If potential patrons don’t know of your existence and are unaware of upcoming programs, then there is little to no participation. With no participation, it is hard validating the continuation of your presence, that money is needed for programming, of proving that you make a difference.

It surprised me to realize that a facility as established as Johns Hopkins, could possibly have a problem with advertising, promotion, or marketing. But Haver (2014), indicated that one of the primary problems their new family resource center had was that no one knew it was there, and no one knew about the programs it offered. The director did the research and worked with the hospital staff to identify safety concerns and the ideal timeframe to schedule the programs. The family resource staff also ensured there were accommodations for those children who may not be able to participate as the program was originally designed. For instance, there was an art program scheduled for painting a mural, and even though the intent had been to perform the activity with brushes, fingers and toes were acceptable alternatives. This also reminds me of previous discussions a few weeks back about the importance of being aware of your audience, of their potential limitations, and being able to adjust your program accordingly.

They also learned how to better promote and advertise their programs and worked with the calendar year to tie in different celebrations or monthly spotlights. They promoted their programs with flyers, announcements, and displays in locations sure to draw attention and get the word out. I thought their display was amazing and have attached an image from the article below. I think everyone working towards the program’s success, helps get access to those who want and need it.

Note: ACH FRC Library November 2013 display window.

I was hospitalized briefly at one of our military facilities and I was so grateful to the roving library, which at the end of the day was a lot of books on a cart. It worked. They came by our rooms to see if we wanted anything to read from the cart and checked the items out to our room. I don’t know if this program is still active in our facilities, but programs that make patients feel less alone and isolated, are greatly appreciated.

This Week's Reading List

This week's book selection was as always a joy to research, and I enjoyed finding so many people to choose from for the biography selection, I hope you enjoy the ones I found. And of course, what's a story list without aliens invading our home planet, but all under the guise of a secret identity or reading about our superheroes come to life. Our libraries have a great selection of stories, and I hope we continue to have a variety of writers providing them.

Biography

Biographies give children an opportunity to learn about people who’ve made a difference in the world at a level they can understand. I think it’s important to keep as close to the facts as possible with these stories, but they are, of course, in a story format to help our young readers better understand the information. I found some great people who have made their mark in history. All but one of my selections have passed, but there are many more from these and other publishers as well, who are alive and continue to make a difference. Enjoy!

 

I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy

 

I am Sonia Sotomayor by Brad Meltzer 

A Computer Called Katherine by Suzanne Slade

The Story of Nelson Mandela by Floyd Stokes 

 Flying High: The Story of Gymnastics Champion Simone Biles  

 by Michelle Meadows

Who Was Marie Curie? by Megan Stine

Fantasy/Sci-Fi

Selecting books from this category was amazing. There is so much to choose from for kids these days. From aliens to dinosaurs (always a kid favorite), and of course all things superhero and Disney that have gone from film to children’s books, these were a pleasure to select and read.

Crash!: The Kid From Planet Z by Nancy Krulik

World of Reading: This is Black Panther by Alexander West

The Alien Next Door: The New Kid by A. I. Newton

Wall-E: Rogue Robots by Jillian Joy Samuels

Jurassic World: Danger Dinosaurs! By Courtney Carbone

References

 

Grigsby, S.K.S. (2014). The story is more important than the words: A portraits of a reader-focused library program. Knowledge Quest, 43(1), 22-28. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/credits/docview/1561140971/se-2.

 

 

Haver, M.K. (2014) Books, children, dogs, artists: Library programs for the entire family. Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 33(2), 211-217. https://doi.org/10.1080/02763869.2014.897523

 

Myers, E. (2008). Storyteller. New York: Clarion Books.

 

 

Piipponen, O. & Karlsson, L. (2019) Children encountering each other through storytelling: Promoting intercultural learning in schools. The Journal of Educational Research, 112(5), 590-603. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2019.1614514

 

 

 

Image Credits

 

All images were obtained via Amazon.com unless credited separately.