StOrYtEllInGTRADITIONALLY, FOLK STORIES DEPENDED ON HUMAN’S MEMORY AND THEN PASSED FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION IN ORDER TO BE SHARED IN EVERY CULTURE AS A WAY OT PRESERVING IT AND AS A MEANS OF ENTERTAINMENT, COMMUNICATION, EDUCATION AND TRANSMIT VALUES. NATURALLY, WHILE BEING RE TOLD ONCE AND ONCE AGAIN, THESE STORIES SUFFER A LOT OF CHANGES AND ADAPTATIONS. WITH THE INVENTION OF THE PRINTING PRESS THAT HELPED LITERATURE TO DEVELOP, MORE PEOPLE HAD ACCESS TO BOOKS AND CHILDREN WERE ABLE TO READ THOSE STORIES THAT THEY HAD LISTENED FOR AGES. FROM THAT MOMENT ONWARDS, THERE WAS A NEW PERCEPTION OF FOLK TALES THEMSELVES, SINCE THEY STARTED TO BE CONSIDERED INDIVIDUAL PRODUCTS BECAUSE OF EACH OF THE KNOWN AUTHORS THAT COLLECTED THEM, RATHER THAN A COLLECTIVE WORK.
THERE ARE KEY ELEMENTS CONNECTED TO STORYTELLING THAT INCLUDE THE ESSENTIAL IDEA OF NARRATIVE STRUCTURE, SUCH AS PLOT, CHARACTERS, NARRATIVE POINT OF VIEW, TEMPORARITY AND RESOLUSION. ONE PECULAR FEATURE OF FAIRY TALES IS THE CLASSIC OPENING WORDS ‘ONCE UPON A TIME’ AND THE INEVITABLE HAPPY ENDINGS, AND THE EXPOSITION-DEVELOPMENT-CLIMAX-RESOLUTION-DENOUEMENT, IN BETWEEN.
THE EARLY FORMS OF STORYTELLING WHICH WERE ORAL MAINLY, COMBINED GESTURES AND EXPRESSIONS, AS WELL, AND LATER ON, DRAWINGS, MUSIC AND ART . STORYTELLING WAS A COMMON PAST TIME AND A STORYTELLER WAS INVALUABLE FOR THE COMMUNITY. IT WAS HIM THE ONE IN CHARGED OF PASSING DOWN VALUES AND ENCOURAGE PEOPLE’S IMAGINATION, ESPECIALLY CHILDREN’S ONE AS THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THEIR MAIN PURPOSE. KNOWING IN ADVANDE THAT CHILDREN ARE ENTHUSIASTICALLY ENGAGED BY STORIES, IT IS A GREAT DECISION TO USE THE POWER OR THE STORY FORM ITSELF AND EMPLOY THAT POWER IN TEACHING.
FOR THIS REASON STORYTELLING BASED ON CLASSIC FAIRY TALES IS A GENUINE WAY TO ENGAGE, STIMULATE AND DEVELOP CHILDREN’S IMAGINATION AND COPE WITH THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE LATTER, LEARNING AND EMOTION, TWO ESSENTIAL TOOLS THAT CHILDREN OWN AND MAY CONTRIBUTE TO PROMOTE CREATIVITY IN THE CLASSROOM. IN ADDITION, STORYTELLING IS A NURTURING WAY TEACHERS CAN USE TO ENCOURAGE CHILDREN TO READ, WRITE, CREATE, THINK AND IMAGINE WITHOUT RESTRICTIONS AS WELL AS TO BUILD THEIR SELF-ESTEEM FOR THEY GET TO REALISE HOW POWERFUL THEIR WORDS AND THOUGHTS ARE AND THEY FEEL SAFE AND CONFIDENT TO TALK ABOUT THEMSELVES. BESIDES, IT IS A WAY TO REMIND CHILDREN THAT BOTH LISTENING AND SPEAKING ARE IMPORTANT AND THAT CLEAR COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PEOPLE IS CRUCIAL. ON TOP OF THAT, STORYTELLING CAN HELP STUDENTS TO SOLVE INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT NON VIOLENTLY. BEING ABLE TO EXPRESS THEIR OWN FEELINGS AND THOUGHTS IS INDISPENSABLE FOR THEIR SAFETY AND A WAY OF DEALING WITH NEGOCIATION AND DISCUSSION AS PEACEMAKING SKILLS.
TRADITIONAL EDUCATION USUALLY PREVENTS STUDENTS FROM GENERATING IMAGES FROM WORDS WHICH IS RELEVANT FOR THEIR IMAGINATIVE DEVELOPMENT, BY PROVIDING KIDS WITH STEREOTYPICAL FEATURES AND IMAGES ALL THE TIME INTERRUPTING THEIR FANTASY. STUDENTS ARE USUALLY FORCE TO MEMORIZE LARGE AMOUNTS OF FACTS INSTEAD OF LETTING THEM USE THEIR FANTASY AND IMAGINATION. NOWADAYS WE KNOW THAT STORYTELLING IS ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYBODY, PEOPLE OF ALL AGES AND ABILITIES MAY BECOME STORYTELLERS. NO SPECIAL EQUIPMENT BUT IMAGINATION, CREATIVITY AND THE SKILLS TO LISTEN TO AND SPEAK ARE NEEDED TO CREATE IMAGES. CONSEQUENTLY, IT IS CRUCIAL FOR TEACHERS AND PARENTS TO WORK WITH IT.
IN CONCLUSION, FAIRY TALES OFFER A WINDOW INTO A WORLD OF IMAGINATION AND FANTASY AND PROVIDE A BRIDGE TO BE LINKED TO PAST AND FUTURE GENERATIONS. ALL THE SAME, THEY TALK ABOUT CULTURES AND DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS AND GENERATE CURIOSITY TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OTHER PEOPLES. AND THE BEST WAY TO GET TO KNOW THESE TIMELESS STORIES IS THROUGH STORYTELLING.
