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= Story Power - Reclaiming the Place of Story in Education and Life =

Great leaders and teachers are natural-born storytellers. Without realizing it, we change lives by the stories we tell not from the content we dispense. Like weavers, we combine ordinary and significant events alike into stories that tell us who we are and where we belong in our world.

When we answer the question, “Why do we need to know this? Why do we “have to” do this work? We are telling a story. When we describe science or explain an algebraic equation; we are telling a story. When we write, when we read, when we dream of a desired future or struggle to understand our past, we are using storytelling to shape learning and lives.

Saving education requires understanding that the most powerful quality we hold as teachers, leaders, and change agents is our power to tell new stories. Ones based on a new world, an unpredictable future, illustrating its unlimited opportunities for any learner who is willing to listen.

This wiki is intended to inspire and support you to craft embrace your gifts as a storyteller, and guide you in the process of telling new stories. It will provoke visions of a new kind of learning, based on a new information environment, leaving you with a clear vision of learning in a global, digital age.

Join me in adding resources, as we craft together a story that is so compelling that we transform our learning and the learning of those who's lives we touch!

= WHY STORY MATTERS in EDUCATION =

Throughout history, story has been used to teach, to entertain, to express, to advocate, and to organize. It is through the sharing of stories that communities build their identities, pass on traditions, and construct meaning. Community building efforts use story to remember the past, to understand the present, and to imagine the future.

Telling stories that sell and stick is a great skill that all teachers, learners, and citizens should keep in mind. It is important to share the power of story with every stakeholder, as story is their future.

Here is a recent conversation about the power of story I had with students:

media type="custom" key="7427217" Here's a[| talk with teachers about the link between storytelling and 21st century skills.]

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[| STORYTELLING AND STANDARDS:]
 * **[|Teaching Storytelling]** | National Council of Teachers of English ( NCTE )
 * **[|On Composing with Non-print Media]** | NCTE
 * **[|On Promoting Media Literacy]**| NCTE