Storytelling can provide a foundation for building a culture of inclusive service, action, and community engagement on our campuses, and a variety of storytelling techniques (such as deep listening circles, poetry, digital storytelling for advocacy, and more) can be used to create awareness of self, others, and planetary assets and needs. Please use these stories to fuel and inspire service learning and community engagement at your school.
Elementary school (ES) educators and students from the ES student council and ES Student Ambassadors team at the American International School of Lagos (AISL) in Nigeria are taking a slow and purposeful approach to building a partnership with peers at a local school in nearby Tarkwa Bay. The emphasis this year has been on building relationships and getting to know each other, and recently, Earth Day provided a powerful way to deepen connections.
Grade 2 educator Ania Judson (also the lower elementary service-learning coordinator) and Grade 3 educator Rachel Cannon (also the inclusion and belonging coordinator) invited their students to write poems for Earth Day. Tarkwa Bay students were invited to do the same, and these poems reveal some common themes, worries, and passions between the two groups. “Our plan is to publish a collection of the poems from our students and the Tarkwa Bay students,” said Ania. “We hope the poems will highlight common ground between our communities as we continue to get to know each other and work towards partnering for action next year.” Rachel noted the power of poetry as an art form has allowed students to freely and fully express themselves. She said, “With poetry, students can think more freely than they might while writing in other forms, and this has allowed our students to be really honest and open.”
Students across the elementary school at AISL participated through curricular time in language arts classes. Many grade levels were engaged with poetry at the time, so this also provided a tangible product and outcome for curricular learning alongside advocacy and the processing of thoughts and feelings related to Earth Day. These curricular outcomes were part of the larger picture of deepening a new partnership with Tarkwa Bay, and both Ania and Rachel want this partnership to be authentically reciprocal and inclusive in nature. “This year has been all about relationships and connections,” said Rachel. Ania added that the teachers from both communities will meet before the end of this academic year to discuss goals and possible outcomes for next year. “We want this to be a dialogue where we create plans and goals together,” she said, adding that student voice is top on the agenda. “We want students from our school and Tarkwa Bay to come up with ideas and engage in action using collaboration and a shared sense of purpose.”
Check out the video interview to learn more about this elementary service-learning experience and community partnership.
Read more about how Storytelling Inspires in Story Circles for Impactful Community Engagement.
LeeAnne Lavender is an educational consultant, coach, and facilitator for international educators, and the Association of International Schools in Africa (AISA) Service Learning program coordinator. She specializes in storytelling, digital storytelling, service learning, and sustainability, and she loves partnering with schools and teachers to create learning experiences that have impact and lead to deep learning. She’s committed to helping educators build changemaker/change seeker cultures to equip students with skills and mindsets to engage in positive, purposeful action.
Website: https://www.leeannelavender.com/
