On Friday, Feb. 3 from 1 to 2:30 p.m., we will offer a 90-minute seminar on how you can incorporate oral storytelling into your classroom, for personal enjoyment or for public performances.

Oral storytellers have been called countercultural because they are swimming “up stream” in terms of modern culture. It is safe to say that we humans will always be drawn to story, the most fundamental way in which we preserve and share information. In today’s high-tech world, however, stories are preferred in movies, television shows and, we hope, in books. Yet the oral storyteller practices an art form dating back to the beginnings of humankind and relies on nothing more than voice and body expression to convey the images and emotions that give the story its power. Oral storytelling has multiple uses in the classroom, including, of course, transmission of understanding and knowledge. Because of the unique relationship created between the teller and the listeners, however, it can also entertain, inspire wonder, and create a magical, timeless realm that makes learning an occasion of magic. In this seminar you will hear four stories from oral tradition and probe the question of how we can use oral storytelling to enhance instruction in the classroom.

The presenter is Joyce Story.

Joyce has been teaching Russian and Spanish language courses at GCC since 1990, and she recently became the instructor of a course on the art of storytelling as well. Her interest in storytelling was awakened when she took a course in children’s literature at GCC in 1988, and she credits the instructor, Dr. Harriet (Betsy) Herlihy, now deceased, with guiding her to the teller’s path. A member of the National Storytelling Network and the local West Valley Tellers of Tales, Joyce shares stories in her own classes and in churches, schools, libraries, coffee houses, and public storytelling gatherings. Her interest in this art proved beneficial when she participated in the MCCCD Costa Rica Faculty Fellowship program in 1998; in addition to teaching English at a branch of the University of Costa Rica, she told tales in Spanish to elementary school children. Joyce holds the Ph.D. degree in Slavic Languages and Literatures.

There will be time for questions and discussions, so bring your questions and ideas!

When: Feb. 3, 1 to 2:30 p.m.
Where: HT2-125