Telling Stories to Build Community
“Story time,” Dr. Raouf Mama called out loudly. “Story time,” the sixth graders called back.
At times, Dr. Mama seemed as much a facilitator as a storyteller, making his stories an all-group experience rather than a performance. Call-and-response was integral to his approach. As he told stories during yesterday’s visit, he had sixth graders repeat key sentences back to him, ensuring that they were taking in all the important details. Throughout, he asked the group to applaud and to clap out particular patterns. He punctuated the stories with a song and a dance that he taught on the spot.
Dr. Mama’s expectation that everyone give him their full attention made clear how storytelling can reinforce group norms. His stories also had morals that helped cement community bonds. Every story spoke to important community values, such as trust, generosity, nimble thinking, and building bridges rather than putting up walls. “When I was growing up, stories were the entertainment in my village. But they also taught important lessons. Stories are moral instruction first and entertainment second.”
Dr. Mama is a storyteller from the West African country of Benin and now teaches English at Eastern Connecticut State University. The University’s website describes his work as showing “the power of folktales as multicultural teaching and learning tools, especially as tools for teaching literacy skills, creative writing, and public speaking.”
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