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"Educators know that it’s not always easy to make history come alive for students. And it’s especially challenging to present it in a way that opens students’ minds to the personal experiences of different groups of people throughout history — in other words, to get them to see history through someone else’s eyes.
One effective and intimate way teachers can connect students to history and to the real people who lived through these experiences is through storytelling. This approach can be an especially powerful way to highlight and encourage appreciation for the differences among groups (by ethnicity, gender, etc.). Sharing life stories allows us all to see in new ways, grapple with new ideas, and nurture compassionate, thoughtful attitudes towards others.
National Women’s History Month, celebrated each March, is a timely opportunity to use storytelling to spark students’ interest and personal connections to the lives and accomplishments of women of all backgrounds.
Wondering how you can use storytelling to bring Women’s History Month to life for your students? The educators at RaceBridges for Schools, a nonprofit initiative that offers free lesson plans on diversity and interracial understanding, recommends that teachers focus on women’s personal experiences during historical events that shaped our country and culture. RaceBridges, which provides resources from professional storytellers, has these suggestions to recognize Women’s History Month through the eyes of diverse American women:
• Make the Native American experience more intimate and personal by focusing on the forced assimilation of Indian children in the American Indian Boarding Schools. In “Dovie’s Story” (available for free through RaceBridgesforSchools.com), Kiowa Apache and Lakota Indian storyteller Dovie Thomason weaves a personal tale of struggle, survival and inspiration as she tells her own daughter of a history that must not be forgotten.
• Highlight the experience of Japanese-American women in the World War II internment camps. The story “Hidden Memory” by professional storyteller Anne Shimojima (also available online) gives voice to an historical event that is rarely discussed. Shimojima’s story touches on the importance of knowing your family's story — and why it matters.
• Explore women’s stories of immigration by highlighting different groups of Americans, such as Latinas. In “Nepantla” (excerpts available online), storyteller Olga Loya recounts her own experience growing up Mexican-American in Los Angeles, trying to choose between the Latino and Anglo cultures, and realizing that she might belong to even more than two cultures and that perhaps there was a way to live with all of them.
By sharing these stories in the classroom, educators can make Women’s History Month much more personal — and encourage empathy for others who have had different life experiences. Celebrating women’s achievements and experiences may also encourage female students to think larger and bolder, while giving boys a fuller understanding of the female experience throughout history.
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For free lesson plans based on these storytellers — or for more ideas about how to incorporate diversity lessons in your classroom — visit racebridgesforschools.com/womenshistory/">RaceBridgesforSchools..com. RaceBridges for Schools offers resources to help teachers and administrators create a school climate that fosters knowledge of and respect for diversity.
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