On May 2nd, 2009, I attended the Stan Little Conference in Palm Desert with my dear friend Cassandra. We arrived a bit after the keynote speaker had begun but I certainly was captivated by Olga Loya. Olga is a storyteller (see the link above to her website). She was raised in East Los Angeles by parents who did not want her to speak Spanish and she shared her life experiences as a Latina woman trying to understand her heritage and the shame that families from Mexico seemed to feel about where they had come from.
I also enjoyed how she reminded us all of the idea that every family and every child has a story. I used her reminder to tell the participants in my workshop that they had to build on the family stories of the children they are working with to engender excitement in literacy. All children (all humans for that matter) want to know who they are. They want to know where they come from. We all enjoy hearing about when we were little or when our parents were little. Our grandparents have wonderful stories to tell. Not only can effective teachers "mine" families for stories, they can and should use the classroom events to make books and stories about the children.
So, get out that digital camera and begin writing the stories that will engage the children!
I can't thank you enough for inviting me to attend the conference with you. What a privilege to hear Olga tell her stories. And while we're on the topic of excellent speakers- I loved your workshop! I'm bringing my camera to the center tomorrow and we will have some new class books shortly. =)
ReplyDelete