This week my school had the privilege and honor of having Baba the Storyteller visit us to begin our work together this year. The staff was blessed with being able to witness his “magic” during our staff meeting on Thursday. When I say “magic” I am not exaggerating . For me it was magical. Baba managed to put the pieces of the puzzle together for me. He did something for me that linked it all together. All the work of courage, gratitude and vulnerability that I have been focusing on over the past two years seemed to all come together during that hour of time.
As Baba shared his story with us I was impressed by his vulnerability and authenticity. The ability to connect us all to his story…. no matter our own story. His ability to make us see that we all have similarities and we all are connected in some way. His ability to encourage us all to tell our stories. He showed us that we are a community that is all interconnected and together we are stronger.
Baba began to talk about the elders in the school- those who have been there for 25 years or more. As I am at 25 years of teaching, I guess that I am now considered an elder. He proceeded to discuss how in other cultures the elder is looked upon as the wise one. They are held at a higher standard and others look up to them. But in our country that is not always the case. That is so true. So many people, as they reach a certain age, are not considered important anymore. When ,if you think about it, they have lived a life with many life experiences that can be used to teach others. The elder’s wisdom should be valued. I think about my own parents. My dad is 87 and my mom is 86. They have been married for 63 years. They are parents of 8 children, grandparents to 19 and great grandparents to 17. They have lived full lives and they hold so much wisdom. In our family they truly are honored. We all spend time with them to hear their stories and seek their counsel when needed. My dad journals about their life and in order to keep the story going, I have a blog of their story to make sure that it stays alive within our family for years to come. So when Baba started talking about elders, my thoughts immediately went to my elders. I would not be the person I am today without their guidance and wisdom.
I started making all of these connections throughout this discussion about elders. I began to realize that it is not just in my profession that I am now an elder, but also for all the younger generation in my life- my own children, my nieces and my nephews, especially. I think to my daughter and how she has just started college. At some points in the past few months, her transition has been rough, but I am able to speak truth, hope, and wisdom into her because of my life experiences that I can share with her. I am able to make a connection to what she is going through because I have had similar experiences. I think recently of a young mother who is struggling in her marriage and she came to me seeking counsel because she knows I had a similar experience years ago. Because I have had the life experiences of divorce, single motherhood, a new loving relationship, blended family and I can look at all those experiences with gratitude and love, then I have the ability to share and speak some wisdom into her life. All that came full circle when Baba spoke. It all made sense! He definitely touched right down into the core of my heart. Baba explained the ability to build community within the school by making sure that you seek the elders. Elders can see patterns from their experiences and provide wisdom to help those who are younger or in the field less years. The teachers who have only been in the profession for five years or so should be seeking out the elders. What they may be experiencing, more than likely, the elder has a story to tell that relates right to that experience.
Recently I read an article, “The Many Faces of Leadership” by Charlotte Danielson, for the Exploring Leadership Cohort that I am a part of and it described teaching as a “flat profession”. No matter how many years you have been doing it -whether one year or twenty- the job responsibilities are the same for both people. And sometimes the only way that a teacher of 20 years feels like they can extend their influence is by going into Administration. When teachers of many years feel that they are stuck in the profession for so long it can lead to cynicism and frustration. But what if we can extend our influence by sharing our experiences and being that elder for those who have less years of teaching? I think sometimes people think that when one gets to twenty or thirty years of teaching that they do not want to change and/or seek new innovative ways to make their teaching better or they have nothing left to offer. This profession is hard and time consuming and there are so many demands expected of us on a daily basis. This job can be tiring and take the energy from many of us. But the “elder” teachers have so much to offer to the profession and others. There are so many elders that I know who are lifelong learners and strive to do better every day. Therefore, one can learn a lot from those who have been in the profession for so long. According to Baba, “Together we are stronger”. If we want to build our community then we need to seek the elders and appreciate how we all interconnect. We need to work together and rely on each other.
TOGETHER WE ARE STRONGER.
When I left on Thursday afternoon, I thanked Baba and told him how his words brought me to tears. He looked at me and said “You get it. As an elder you have the ability to build the community.”
On Friday, the students had the pleasure of meeting Baba at the grade level assemblies. He spoke to them about listening with your heart. He told them if you listen with your heart you will hear music and stories. He did not disappoint. Music and stories hit the auditorium. He sang, the students sang. He had the ability to quiet the audience, motivate the audience, energize the audience, captivate the audience and mesmerize the audience, including me. I listened not just with my ears but with my heart. I heard him talk about friendship, compassion, kindness, community and scholarliness. He had one of the same messages for them as he had for the staff- “Together You are stronger”.
One of the most poignant moments was when he asked a young girl to speak up when she was asking a question and he said, ” When I look in your eyes, I see a young girl who has a story to tell but your voice is so soft we can’t hear it. Project your voice so we can hear that story that is so important to who you are.” That epitomizes everything that I am try to work for with all my students- You are important. You Matter. You have a story to tell.
When the assembly was over I walked up to Baba and told him how inspirational it was and again he spoke to my heart. He looked at me as he did the previous day and said ” You know exactly what I am talking about. You have been here long enough to have the wisdom.”
When I returned to class with my students, we sat in our morning meeting circle and I asked my students what they thought of the assembly. There were so many positive things that they had to say about Baba and what they learned. Then I had them write down one thing that Baba has inspired them to do. One child said “Baba has inspired me to listen with my heart. Together we are stronger.”Many students said that Baba inspired them to be better friends and kinder people. Some said Baba inspired them to keep their promises. These thoughts came from the story that Baba shared about friendship. There were so many messages that the children could have taken from Baba’s storytelling. The inspiration was alive in the room.
What did Baba inspire me to do? First, to write this blog post and tell my story of my experience with Baba. Secondly, Baba has inspired me to take pride in my ability to make a difference in someone’s life by telling my story and sharing my experiences. Baba inspired me to embrace being an “elder” in my school community. He has taught me that my wisdom is meaningful and important. Go out and share it! By sharing my story and experiences we can create a stronger community because TOGETHER WE ARE STRONGER!!