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FROM COURTESY COACHING: A Storytelling Lesson
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The Tea Party Company
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Aug 30, 2004 16:43 PDT
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IN THIS ISSUE:
FROM COURTESY COACHING: A STORYTELLING LESSON
SEPTEMBER SAVINGS FOR SCHOOLS!
UPCOMING EVENTS AND CONFERENCES
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“The friend is the man who knows all about you, and still likes you.”
--Elbert Hubbard 1927
“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence
stops.” --Henry Adams
“Children need love, especially when they do not deserve it.” --Harold
Hulbert
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A Storytelling Lesson from the Courtesy Coaching Lesson Plan Guide for
Teachers
When I was growing up in the mountains of East Tennessee, the National
Storytelling Festival was just another treasure of the surrounding area
that I took for granted. There are some things about your home town
that you just can’t appreciate until you move away. Beginning in 1973,
the storytelling festival started with around sixty folks who gathered
around hay bales and wagons to share stories. It was tiny, but
something happened that changed forever our culture, this traditional
art form, and the little Tennessee town where I just happened to grow
up.
The festival, now in its thirty-first year and acclaimed as one of the
Top 100 Events in North America, sparked a renaissance of storytelling
across the country. If you’re the type of person who keeps a ‘must do’
list, I would encourage you to attend, whether you currently consider
yourself a fan of storytelling or not.
In recognition of the upcoming event, I wanted to share one of my
favorite storytelling lessons that has become a part of the Courtesy
Coaching program. I have shared it with students of all ages and have
yet to meet up with an audience who didn’t enjoy it thoroughly!
To tell it, you’ll need some large rhinestones, some small rocks (those
used for flower arranging work well), and a solid-colored bag to hold
all of these. It’s a great visual story, I tell children it’s a LOOKING
and LISTENING story and it helps them to pay close attention to the
words as they are spoken. You’ll definitely want to rehearse it a
couple of times before sharing it with them, because the climax comes
when you are able to ‘transform’ the stones into diamonds....you’ll
accomplish this by keeping those rhinestones in the bottom of the bag
without detection from your audience.
Beforehand, put the ‘diamonds’ and the stones (this works best if the
stones are larger than the rhinestones so that you can easily tell the
difference between the two by feeling them inside of the bag). It will
be essential that you are able to conceal the fact that there is
anything but stones in the bag until the very end of the story
While beginning the story, you will hold the bag in your hand and
periodically you will lay some stones out for them to see, perhaps
putting them onto a table where everyone can see or handing them to
volunteers to hold
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THE STORY:
There were once six travelers who were walking on a long and dusty road.
These were nomadic people who had no home of their own–everything that
they owned was in a heavy sack on their backs. The journey was long and
the road was difficult to walk on because it was covered with many tiny
stones (this is the point at which you lay out the stones for them to
see).
Suddenly, a light appeared before them and spoke in a loud voice:
TRAVELERS...HEAR MY COMMAND. AS YOU WALK ALONG THIS PATH, PICK UP AS
MANY STONES AS YOU CAN GATHER AND PUT THEM INTO YOUR BAG. And then,
just as suddenly as it had appeared, it vanished.
(By now, you should have removed most of the stones from the bag, the
diamonds remain secretly inside).
One traveler turned to another and said “Well I don’t know about you,
but there is no way I am going to make my bag heavier and my journey
more difficult by picking up any stones...forget it!”. His friend
agreed, and together they continued on the path.
Another one of the group said to his friend “Gee, that was so weird, I
guess I’ll pick up a couple of these ol’ rocks.” His friend agreed and
together they walked along, picking up a small rock every now and then
(at this point, you begin gathering a few of the rocks and returning
them to the bag).
Finally, a traveler from the rear of the group spoke up to his friend
and said “I cannot explain what we’ve just seen. But my heart tells me
that this was a special message and I plan to pick up as many of these
stones as I am able to carry.” His friend agreed and together, they
slowly continued, filling their bags with the stones from the path. (At
this point, pick up all remaining stones and put them into the bag).
The six continued along in this manner for some time. Can you guess who
were the most tired of the group once they reached their camp for the
night? Can you imagine what the conversations must have sounded like as
they traveled?
Soon, the rocky path ended and they continued along a dirt path. No
more stones were left under their feet, but still their journey was
long. Finally, it was time to stop for the night. All of the travelers
emptied their bags onto the ground and were amazed at what they saw.
(At this point, you will dramatically empty the entire contents of your
bag including both the diamonds and the stones, where everyone can see).
Some of the stones that had been gathered along the way had turned into
DIAMONDS!
(Pause for the ‘ooh and ahh’).
How do you think you would have felt if you were the travelers who chose
to make the trip easier on themselves and didn’t pick up any stones?
What about those people who picked up only a few? And how about those
who picked up all they could?
Learning new things in our lives is a lot like that journey...sometimes
things that seem like just a rock in the road might be a diamond in
disguise! So take advantage of every opportunity that you have to learn
something new...whether it’s in your manners classes or elsewhere, and
at the end of your journey, you too will be amazed at what you see!
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If you would like more information on the National Storytelling
Festival, please visit their website at
http://www.storytellingcenter.com/festival/festival.htm
For a great collection of teacher resources for Storytelling, check out:
http://www.geocities.com/storiesinc/online-resources_teachersguide.htm
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SEPTEMBER SAVINGS FOR SCHOOLS
There’s never been a better time to Cultivate a Culture of Courtesy in
YOUR community school, so we’re offering significant savings to schools
who schedule a training event for teachers in their school and
surrounding area during the month of September (the actual training can
be held any time between now and June 2005). Included in our
Professional Development session:
-Peer-to-Peer Training: Teachers are taught information designed
exclusively for their classrooms by veteran teachers themselves.
-36-Lesson Teacher’s Guide: Ready-to-Go lessons that provide direct
instruction in the behaviors, skills, and values of ‘good manners’ for
the classroom
-Fundraising Opportunities: Ours is the only program of its kind with an
inherent plan for funding that is a PART of the program’s offering
itself.
-Resources for your school: A complete set of reference books and an
instructional video for your school’s library
-Our training sessions for teachers carry a money-back satisfaction
guarantee.
-Ongoing Support for Instructors: Certified Courtesy Coaches can network
with other educators from all over the nation to share ideas for helping
impart good manners and etiquette to children.
-And MUCH More!
For details on the September Savings package or to add your school's
name to our mailing list, call us at 586-246-3123 or email
Scho-@teapartycompany.com today!
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UPCOMING CHARACTER EDUCATION CONFERENCE IN BIRMINGHAM, MICHIGAN
"BUILDING SCHOOLS & COMMUNITIES OF CHARACTER" Birmingham Public Schools
and the Japhet School, a National School of Character, invite you to
attend a conference on the importance of character in our community -
for our children, for our families, and for our organizations and
institutions. Featuring Dr. Thomas Lickona, developmental psychologist,
professor of education, and author of Educating for Character and
Character Matters. Dr. Lickona will offer practical strategies to help
kids build strong personal character and lay out a blueprint for
building core virtues through a partnership shared by families, schools,
and communities. The $75 Conference Fee Includes lunch & a copy of
"Character Matters". Check-in begins at 8am. Registration Deadline is
October 19, 2004. Visit www.CommunityEd.net to register or to learn
more.
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The Next Step, Young Ladies & Gentlemen
(Young Ladies and Gentlemen Ages 13 and up) Our popular manners and
etiquette classes for youngsters are growing! Cyndee Harrison joins with
Ralph Carreathers whose vast repertoire of experience ranges from
special events planning and set design to performing on stage as a
member of Alvin Ailey Dance Company. Together, they will help
adolescents, teens, and young adults who wish to further develop their
social skills by including instruction in beginning dance. Headed for
holiday celebrations, wedding, or other family events with your teen?
This is the class to help ensure that they are comfortable in a wide
variety of social settings! Adults are welcome! The final session will
be a tea dance at the Townsend Hotel.
Register at www.communityed.net or call 586-246-3123 to learn more!
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The mission of The Tea Party Company is to Cultivate a Culture of
Courtesy. Our approach to this goal is three-fold. First, we will
facilitate social events including hosted tea parties, parent-and-child
dinner parties, and sponsorship of a nationwide tea society. Secondly,
we will provide direct instruction to children in the behaviors, skills,
and values of good manners. Finally, we will complement and complete
existing Character Education initiatives in schools by providing
educators with effective teaching tools for bringing manners into the
mainstream.
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LOOKING AHEAD: NATIONAL CHARACTER COUNTS! WEEK OCTOBER 17-23, 2004.
VISIT WWW.CHARACTERCOUNTS.ORG FOR IDEAS TO CELEBRATE!
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