When Learning Comes Alive

Recently, somebody asked me: Why did you choose the name One Story Classroom for your educational resources?

Here's why. 

Discovering the World - One Story at a Time

If you're reading this, it's likely that, like me, you're passionate about education. And you know that education isn't just about acquiring the ability to balance chemical equations and conjugate verbs in dead languages.

A holistic approach to education demands that creativity, innovation and a deep connectedness to one's natural and human environments are learning outcomes that should be valued as much as the mastery of academic skills. Awe and wonder are understood as being key to any intellectual undertaking. Curiosity and a hunger for discovery are seen as the hallmarks of an educated mind. This vision of education sees learning as a process capable of unleashing the powers of the human mind and awakening the soul. 

To me, the best educators - whether they are teachers, parents, mentors, coaches or caregivers - are those who know how to tell a good story. They know that children are not just empty receptacles into which to pour information. These educators see children as as their audience - each with their own knowledge, beliefs and questions. And they know their job is not just to convey information, but also to convince their young listeners that this information is meaningful and to open their listeners' minds to new possibilities. 

In other words, they are storytellers. 

Like any good storyteller, these educators know that their job is to paint a picture with words, transport their listener into a world beyond their immediate surroundings, and to leave the listener - at the end of the story - wondering: What happens next? What could happen next?

These educators - these storytellers - have mastered the art of looking at the world through the eyes of a child. A child who is looking at everything for the first time, wanting to know the story behind every single thing they see. A child who remembers that there always is a story behind every single thing - if only you stop to ask. A child who is never complacent in their quest for knowledge, and never feels like they already know enough. 

These educators know that education is not - and cannot afford to be - simply about accumulating facts and regurgitating them solely for the sake of higher test scores, university admissions and high-paying jobs. 

These educators share a vision for education as a quest for discovery and learning for its own sake. Because to learn is to live, to breathe. 

These are the educators who are determined to bring the world - all of its beauty, wonder and diversity - to young people. One story at a time. 

Making Learning Come Alive Through the Art of Storytelling

Here's where One Story Classroom comes in.

We want to join these educators in their quest to bring this type of learning - the kind that inspires curiosity and captivates the imagination - to children all over the world. It's a huge undertaking but we want to start talking to parents, teachers, coaches, aunts and uncles - anyone who has a young person in their life. 

We've got a lot planned and we'd love to hear from you. We're currently working on developing our materials for use around the world, as well as developing partnerships with individuals, communities and organisations in different countries through our Storytelling Communities project. 

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