The Classroom Storyteller

I have been a storyteller since early childhood. My grandfather Paullin - Gramps in my book TWISTERS, BRONC RIDERS & CHERRY PIE - was a master storyteller, and I loved to listen to him. As a child, I often told stories to myself. Of course, I was always the hero in those stories. I was always strong and courageous, and I never failed at anything. I also told stories to others, to my playmates and my family. When I married, I told stories to my wife, and she believed them - at first. When my children were born, I began telling them stories at an early age. To this day when we get together as a family, I tell stories. My first experience of using stories to educate came when I was teaching history to junior high and high school students. People often complain about how dry and uninteresting history is, and their complaints are often justified due to the boring way history is taught. But history does not have to be dry and uninteresting. When told as a story, history comes alive, and it is fascinating. So, in all of my history classes, I told stories. Not only did the kids enjoy the classes, they also learned a lot of history.