Storyteller Teacher

Like Frank McCourt (but not as famous nor as brilliant), I am a storyteller teacher. I guess it makes sense. I'm a writer, so I like to tell stories. I didn't realize until this latest stint how many funny, strange, even sad anecdotes from my life are woven within instruction. This class really loves my stories. "Tell us another story, Ms. Beck" and of course, I oblige.

My pickles' favorite stories are ones from my adolescent angst, of course. They love the stories about my famous unrequited love affair with Rodney Bedner. (names are changed in this blog, but I use the actual names in the classroom). Oh, how they love to hear about how I lovedlovedloved Rodney Bedner and how instead of asking ME to prom, I was devasted when he asked Nancy Kapple because she had just gotten her braces off. I mean, really? Because she had dazzling white teeth? Now, is this fair? I dramatize the pain and agony and especially the injustice of this slight. Then, I finish the story with the moral. "You know what, kids? I'm glad he asked Nancy Kapple to prom because she's dead. She's dead, I tell you. She's dead and I'm alive so I'm glad she got to go to prom with Rodney Bender. I mean, at least she got that. Sometimes in life, we don't know why things happen when they happen. But there is always a reason."

They are usually thunderstruck. Ah, the beauty of old age. So easy to share life experiences with kids and dazzle them by ordinary events like the inevitible death of us all. I don't know if many of my stories have specific morals, though. Perhaps I'm not wise and sage enough. In fact, now that I contemplate it... I realize some of my stories don't even have endings. They're just stories. Ways of connecting me to my students. Definitely humanizing.

And that is a major point. I strive to be a person first; teacher second. I remember (here I go with stories again) when I was a student, teachers didn't seem to exist outside of the classroom. They didn't have first names. They didn't have families, homes... and certainly never used the bathroom nor went to the grocery. I felt really disconnected from the formality that once dictated classroom behaviors. I don't want that for my students. I mean, I don't need them to know I pee, per se. But, I do put my entire name on the board and tell stories and expose myself as an ordinary human; not just (JUST) a teacher.

Sorry... no more time for stories now. Pickles are walking in and I've got old school Jackson 5 cued up for a surprise Music Pop-Up Moment. Oh, how I love the classroom.