Oral Tradition - The forgotten corner stone of modern literacy programs

Once upon a time all flickering from every fire was muffled out by the steady whispering of a good fairy tale or myth. Our ancestors honored the multi-layered wisdom that sprung, like Jack over the candlestick, through Jade Rabbit's ears and into the heart of each orphaned Listener circling the teller in that special nook by the fireplace. But the fires to gather around are now few and far between. The villages are skimpy and scattered. The tales are in ashes. The tellers are an endangered specie. 

Children around the world are learning to read stories they never heard told.

In a small corner of the Shandong Province of Jinan, however, this is not the case. Our Majesty Story, sits on the throne she once ruled from. She is revered, as Athena herself. One of the many reasons for this is that: 1) a strong intake of oral stories during the pre-reading stages facilitates the process of becoming a reader often trialed in the later stages for those without it.

Little Theo takes his stand behind
the story drum, dressed in the story shawl. 

Not only does listening to stories facilitate the acquisition of readings skills, but it also is an ancient system of instilling a sense of virtue. Lets take HEROISM as an example. Most children in the world will have a basic understanding of what the word means. Nonetheless, a child that grew up with Story will have multiple and vivid examples of heroism to draw from throughout life as they face the many difficulties that undoubtedly await us all in the darker forests and nights of our journeys.

On average, our kids listen to 5 stories each week. Over the span of 8 months they have already heard more than 50 stories from around the world and some of these have been retold more than 50 times each!! This intention and conviction fosters an intrinsic relationship with story itself. Rather than it being a meager/sparse moment of pseudo-entertainment to be depleted that adds to the ever narrowing of the dream years, Story takes on the comforting identity of a friend who will be there in good times and in bad throughout their Hero Journeys that are just beginning.

As a storyteller myself, I cannot be responsible for being a part of a world where many live an entire life without ever hearing a story. So come and join us every Tuesday at 12.30pm our doors are open in the Lingxiu neighborhood in South Jinan.