SAI International hosted several ingenious story-telling sessions for students & teachers from January 16-18, 2023, with renowned international storytellers-Award Winning “Friend of the Deaf” Storyteller & Founding Director, Federation of Asian Storytellers, Mr. Roger Jenkins; Highly regarded multi-instrumentalist, master storyteller & inspirational trainer from Edinburgh, Scotland, Marion Kenny & famous South-African Storyteller & Sign Language Specialist, Bongiswa Kotta Ramushwana. Instilling essential virtues in the young learners through these insightful & engaging sessions, these story-tellers touched upon fables, book tales & the traditional panchatantra collection to depict the imperative components in the art of storytelling just as gestures, voice modulation, visuals, sequencing, body language & non-verbal communication, thereby fuelling the curiosity & fostering the imagination of the students.
The SAIoneers of Classes IV-V sat in awe, listening to the fables as narrated by Mr. Jenkins, chorusing refrains & mimicking the body language showcased by him during a playful session in SAI International School on January 16, 2023. His animated expressions, lively voice & dramatic gestures kept the SAIoneers riveted. During his session with the teachers of SAI Angan on January 18, 2023, he shared valuable insights on ways of engaging the class & discussed the various sorts of stories that should be on their lesson plans to instil curiosity & critical thinking amongst the kids.
While addressing the students & teachers, Roger Jenkins, said “stories are not to exaggerate reality, they are there to teach you all that nothing is impossible. No matter how big the obstacle, you will always find your way around it.” He emphasized on how stories can teach children all about hope, happiness and tolerance. He also said, “Having animals as characters makes the stories more fun & helps lighten the tales that have strong lessons.’’
A fun & interactive workshop on ‘Storytelling for Beginners’ was conducted for the students of Classes IV-VIII at SAI International Residential School on January 16, 2023, by Ms Marion Kenny. Her rhythmic, musical & physical interactions with the SAIoneers were stunning, & she skillfully overcame the language barrier, imbibing a lot of facial expressions, gestures & the use of voice. During her interaction with the kids, she said, “It is heartening to learn of the many ways storytelling is being incorporated into Indian education.”
Ms. Bongiswa Kotta Ramushwana appreciated the culture entailed in the holistic approach of SAI International Residential School & talked about classroom interaction through stories, ways to sharpen the learner’s mind, voice modulation & breathing exercises, while conducting the Storytelling & Effective Communication Workshop for the Teachers of Grade IV to VIII on January 17, 2023.
All the story-telling sessions culminated with the spread of joy amidst the kids & teachers as they discovered that any one of them could be a story-teller.