If history was taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten Rudyard Kipling

The AV Room was the venue for a workshop on Sex Education and Relationship Management through Stories, a storytelling workshop for teachers on Wednesday, 24th February 2016. The workshop was conducted by Mr. Ameen Haque, founder, Storywallahs, an organisation that specialises in the art of storytelling. Mr. Ameen Haque was always fascinated by stories. His love for stories greatly aided his career in two leading advertising agencies, Ogilvy and McCann Erickson. Mr. Haque said that stories have shaped history and have the power to mould the future. Infact, stories are the best way to inspire change, motivate, influence and teach. We learn best through stories but unfortunately, most teachers do not make use of this medium in the classroom. He caught us off guard when he threw an unexpected question at us, which made most of us scratch our heads! He asked how many of us remembered the Pythagoras theorem. The hesitant few hands going up set the tone of the workshop. As most of us struggled to recall, Mr. Haque assured that, alas, it was not our fault we did not remember, it is the fault of the education system, as many of us had grown up trying to learn things by rote causing us to forget them as quickly. He insisted, stories are rarely forgotten. The mention of the thirsty crow, the hare and the tortoise and the monkey and the cap seller brings back images instantly. These stories may be from a time much before we learned either Pythagoras or Archimedes, but we still recall them vividly. So if stories help us remember, why should we not teach through stories? It is the teacher who makes a subject interesting. So why should every teacher not turn into a storyteller? As he began telling us stories, the room reverberated with the song, ' Aagayaaaagayastorywallahaagayaa, with every tale he spun. The great panache with which Mr. Haque narrated stories to us, left us thinking how powerful a medium the story is indeed, and can be even more purposefully employed if used in the classroom! And that is exactly what the purpose of the workshop was, to teach us how to use stories in our classrooms and weave magic. It was as if a renewed energy, a breath of fresh air filled the room. One after the other, Mr. Haque unfolded stories, playfully pelting them across the room. With the animated use of his hands, eyes and voice, in his innate style, he brought life to every character in every story. With rapt attention and alacrity, we listened to him. We were, as if transported into our childhoods. It became clear that stories are not just enjoyed by children, but they are for everyone to relish! Mr. Haque said that the child's favourite subject is the one taught by his or her favourite teacher. There is a very strong correlation between the favourite subject and the favourite teacher. So true, indeed! The fond memories most of us have of our school days are of teachers who have told us stories. Mr. Haque was of the opinion that children need to hear stories rather than just watch them on television. Allowing them to watch everything on television takes away their choice to imagine, and a childhood without imagination is worthless. Why stories? Mr. Haque asked the audience. To grab attention, to make a lesson more impactful, stories make the content memorable, comprehension is better..were some of the answers he welcomed with an applause, that was obviously encouraging! But the larger purpose of a story, he said, is to connect to the audience, to fire the imagination. He said, Imagination is a notion fast disappearing from the world! There is no innovation and invention without imagination. Imagination is the exercise of the brain. He explained how listening to stories are different from watching TV by telling us a story of a small boy lost in a jungle. He stopped all of a sudden and asked us what each one of us imagined the small boy to be like. With the varied answers he received, he was indeed successful in conveying the message that watching TV does not nurture imagination, the way listening to a story does. Everyone imagines in a unique way, a point proved successfully and so effortlessly! Storytelling is a powerful tool that we all as teachers can and must use in our classrooms to make the most mundane of topics come alive. Story by story it dawned on us that storytelling can work wonders for our children. They can help in enhancing language and listening skills, lengthen the attention span and improve concentration. Being the professional that Mr. Haque is and also a master of his art, how could he not let us know the techniques of storytelling? When we read a story, we lose eye-contact with the audience, but when we narrate a story, we actually live it and embody it and that is what catches the attention and interest of young minds. Having a voice for every character in the story was one technique he suggested. Adding further to the fun quotient, he invited any one amongst us to volunteer to say a particular sentence in as many different ways, voices and intonations as one possibly can- feminine, masculine, nasal and many more. It became evident how multifariously, we teachers, can use our gifts of the gab, as it were, to make our lessons both entertaining and impacting. He also suggested that while telling a story it is not necessary to name each and every character, one should leave things to the imagination of the audience as well and allow them to do some guessing. He apprised us on how we can have stories for every subject, infact every concept that we teach in class. Among many other stories, he regaled us with was a Math story through which the concept of compound interest could easily be taught to the children! No matter how different each story is, each one is based on one simple formula or structure- a character, an obstacle or a sea of obstacles and conflicts he is thrown into, his struggle and finally the result or resolution. If a story does not have a conflict, it isnt a story at all! Talking about the issue of sex education, he said that a topic as sensitive as this could also be dealt with through stories. He narrated the story of a young girl who loses her mothers trust and has to go through a lot of trials and tribulations for no fault of hers, but of one of her friends who is a boy. The story described how the boy mistakes the girls friendly behavior towards him for stronger feelings and then fabricates a relationship and makes it public, maligning the girl and causing her a lot of mental trauma. Later, Mr. Haque asked for our suggestions as to what we think the girl should do in such a situation, how she should gain back her mothers trust and whether or not she should confront the boy. Listening to all the suggestions patiently, Mr. Haque insisted that the focus should not be on continuously telling children what to do, but on nudging them gently towards awareness. Putting in front of them an open-ended story or rather a situation like this would not only encourage honest answers from them, but also make them think in a healthy direction. The workshop commenced on a happy note and ended on a happy one too. All of us felt empowered and were sure of one thing now- nothing can stop us from becoming our students favourite teachers! In the words of Mr. Ameen Haque, Tell your stories and keep walking the path. The journey is the destination. So let us all tell stories and spread not only knowledge but also a lot of love. Let us give our children memories they will cherish for a lifetime. Let us make a difference in the lives of our children. After all, we are teachers! Ms. Gandharvi Mukherjee.