Cultural Vehicles in Education - assisting the needs of vulnerable social groups

Die Wille gGmbH

04-09 April 2008

"Oral history and storytelling: From Fairy Tales to Rap"

1. A description of the activities undertaken during the unit, including comments on the reactions of the group/individual participants

First day

-Check in: How do I feel today, in this moment.
- Each participant takes a quotation out of a basket for his or her motto for the next days.
- Introduction into the program of the workshop (running 4 days), and its aims. The trainer explains that it will be partly documented by video and reminds the participants of the "Working Agreement" (rules for communication in the group) which was agreed upon at the beginning of the CVE-courses.
- Inventing a story: Sitting in a circle, each participant relates one or two sentences, when the trainer claps her hands, the immediate neighbour continues.
- Inventing a story using five words: forest, to pick, shawl, golden, desperate. Each participant wrote a short story and performes it in front of the group.
- Brainstorming: The purpose of stories and tales; collecting the ideas on the flipchart.
- Short lecture regarding the history of story-telling. Hand outs regarding this topic.
- About listening: Individual perception and selection criteria.
- Several exercises for pronunciation, accentuation, emphasis, tongue-twister.
- Check out and task for the next day: Choose the favorite poem, story, wit or meaningful from ones own experience.

Second day

- Check in
- Fables from Aesop and Nasrudin. Each person chose one tale and prepared to perform it. Key words could be marked. The trainer dispersed little cards with "emotions", like sad, happy, stressed, in love etc; the participants performed the texts depicting different moods.
- Each person wrote a short episode, as first person narrator, either fictional or based on real experience, and performed it .
- Check out and Feedback: The participants expressed how they felt about the session of today. What could have been different or better?

Third day

- Check in
- The game "Billi Billi Bop" was used, to get into dynamic movement and to risk "making a fool of oneself".
- The trainer distributed cards with characters, which had to be performed in pantomime or "frozen images".
- Partner-, team- or single work: Performance of the favorite story, poem etc (homework from first day). The participants could help each other, if they wanted, they could use the masks or puppets and a collection of shawls as costumes. The performances were partly filmed with video, provided the participants agreed.
- One woman performed the biblical story of Salome, King Herod and John the Baptist, using the paper masks for presenting the three different characters. Her interpretation was different from the usual known history. The King and John had been friends and Herod tried to prevent John’s death, but without success. This performance caused a serious discussion about the question, if it is correct to reinterpret stories of the bible and give them another meaning. All persons get involved in a quite philosophical argumentation on history, its written or oral tradition, what is the difference between history and belief. The discussion was very vivid but respectful.
- Check out and Feedback.

Fourth day

- Check in
- The game "Multiball" was used to bring the participants into movement, to train attentiveness and to have fun and relax by laughing.
- Each participant performed a short story or a fable, he or she had to do this in a predetermined mood (chosen by a little card). The audience had to guess which kind of mood was presented.
- A participant, whose uncle died, asked, if she could present her funeral speech to the group. She got positive feedback and good advice from the members of the group. This was a sign for the trustful atmosphere and empathy between the participants.

Continuing fourth day:

- Each participant performed a story alone or with others. It was up to the players if they used props, costumes, masks, puppets or not, also the methods of performing were free choice: pantomime, frozen image, no boundaries for the creativity! This was documented by video, if the person agreed.
- The group gave feedback to each performance if the person in question wanted to receive this.
- Check out in the round, comments to the whole workshop. (see next point)

2. Was the aim of the unit achieved (the implementation of practical skills and the pedagogical aim)?

The aim of the unit was achieved. The extraordinarily lively and motivated participation of the learners was sufficient proof of this. Here some comments from the participants in the check out and feedback rounds:
- I was surprised about my own potential, the treasure I could recover. I am looking forward to the next workshop.
- It was so many-facetted, I will take along a lot for my life.
- I lost my timidness, it was a good exercise for presenting and lecturing in front of an audience.
- Normally I stutter, in this group it was no problem, because of the trustful atmosphere.
- I realised that I have problems showing my feelings, especially anger. I have to learn this. In daily life I am much more serious and grave, but here I managed to behave more relaxed, e.g. my performance of the flight of Ikarus.
- The group atmosphere was very cordial, we can speak our mind and accept each other.
- I liked it very much, although I am a more passiv person. I have learned a lot.
- I had vague expectations, but I had fun and will take a lot of experiences. I risked to do things, like perform something, I never had thought to be able to do this before.

3. Other remarks (for example on the interaction between artistic and educational elements)

The artistic and educational elements worked in a synergetic way in this workshop. The process of learning can be described as an active and creative one. The cultural vehicles, like poems, fables, fairy tales, song texts, classic myths, little stories composed by the participants and divers methods of acting and performing helped them to enhance their social and communication competences and to express themselves better. Simultaneously their knowledge in the field of cultural heritage became enlarged and they gained methods how to use it for their own personal growth and for effective communication with others.