Life Lessons through Storytelling: Children's Exploration of Ethics

190 Pages·2010·2.2 MB·English

by  Donna Eder

EDUCAtIoN, SoCIology e
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storyteLLinG empowers chil-
dren to engage in discussions; explore
ideas about power, respect, community,
fairness, equality, and justice; and help L
frame their understanding of complex ethi- i
cal issues within a society. In Life Lessons f
through Storytelling, Donna Eder interviews elemen- e
tary students and presents their responses to stories
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from different cultures. Using Aesop’s fables and
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Kenyan and Navajo storytelling traditions as models Life Lessons
for classroom use, Eder demonstrates the value of a s
cross-cultural approach to teaching through story- s
through storytelling
telling, while providing deep insights into the social o
psychology of learning.
n
s Children’s Exploration of Ethics
Donna eDer is Professor of Sociology at

Indiana University Bloomington. She is au-
t
thor of School Talk: Gender and Adolescent h
Donna eDer with Regina Holyan
Culture. r
o
u foreword by Gregory Cajete
reGina HoLyan is currently a senior
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staff attorney with the Navajo Nation Department of h
Justice and was Assistant Professor in the School of
s
Education at Indiana Univeristy Bloomington.
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• Cover drawing: “Peace” by Amanda K., age 8, courtesy of Global Children’s Art Gallery, naturalchild.org y
• Donna Eder photo courtesy of David Duffee t
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• Patricia Coleman photo courtesy of Mari Dagaz
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INDIANA
University Press
Bloomington & Indianapolis
IN
D
www.iupress.indiana.edu IA
1-800-842-6796 NA
Life Lessons MECH.indd 1 7/19/10 9:55 AM
Life Lessons through Storytelling

Life Lessons through Storytelling
Children’s Exploration of Ethics
b
Donna Eder
with Regina Holyan
Foreword by Gregory Cajete
Indiana University Press
Bloomington and Indianapolis
This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
601 North Morton Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47404-3797 USA
www.iupress.indiana.edu
Telephone orders 800-842-6796
Fax orders 812-855-7931
Orders by e-mail [email protected]
© 2010 by Donna Eder
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions
constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.
o∞ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Life lessons through storytelling : children’s exploration of ethics /
Donna Eder with Regina Holyan; foreword by Gregory Cajete.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-253-22244-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Storytelling. 2. Social ethics.
I. Cajete, Gregory, [date] II. Eder, Donna, [date] III. Holyan, Regina.
LB1042.L48 2010
372.67’7—dc22
2010008462
1 2 3 4 5 15 14 13 12 11 10
For David Duffee
and to the memory of Eugene Eder

Contents
Foreword by Gregory Cajete • ix
Acknowledgments • xvii
1.
Introduction • 1
2.
Strengthening Community through Storytelling • 7
3.
Drawing on Oral Traditions for a
Contemporary Storytelling Event • 24
4.
Of Fables and Children • 40
5.
“The Wolf Really Wasn’t Wicked”:
Ethical Complexities and “Troubled” Students • 60
6.
Rabbit Tales (Tails): Kenyan Stories with
Multiple Meanings (with Tiffani Saunders) • 78
7.
“It’s Hard to Admit, But Sometimes You Get Jealous”:
Lessons from the Hyena (with Oluwatope Fashola) • 100
8.
The Next Stage: Putting It into Practice • 119
9.
Coming Full Circle: Cross-Cultural Lessons • 131
Appendix A: A Multimethod Approach to Storytelling • 143
Appendix B: Examples of Focus Group Interview Questions • 151
Appendix C: Editions of Aesop’s Fables • 153
Notes • 155
Bibliography • 159
Index • 163

vii

Foreword
Gregory Cajete
Donna Eder, with the assistance of Regina Holyan and her other
collaborators, has produced an exquisite interdisciplinary study of
storytelling as a vehicle for children’s social and ethical learning.
She explores Aesop’s fables and Kenyan folktales to show how open-
ended storytelling leads to a variety of meanings and lessons, many of
which reflect children’s own ethical dilemmas as well as social issues
of justice and equality. She also shows how storytelling empowers
youth: as they see how the animal characters play important roles in
the stories, they develop an understanding of complex ethical issues
and develop respect for others engaged in a collective process of
learning which leads to a strengthening of community.
She illustrates in extraordinary ways how storytelling creates a
context for the development of ethical thinking on the part of chil-
dren. The feelings associated with empathy for other people and other
living things are part of an essential developmental stage in children’s
social development. The evocation of affective feelings for other liv-
ing things is a foundational component of “biophilia,” which is the
biologically based instinct for relating to other living things.
Biophilia may also be said to be the biological instinct which
forms the foundation for human relationships, human community,
and learning. Human beings are social beings and the development
of an understanding for the complex nature of social relationships
forms a foundation for the socialization of children within their fam-
ily, community, and cultural group. The deep psychological mecha-
nisms associated with storytelling facilitate the development of not
only self-knowledge but also social and communal knowledge on
ix