Story Telling as a tool of learning

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Published: August 14, 2012 10:05 IST | Updated: August 14, 2012 10:05 IST

Learning to see sunny side up

Staff Reporter

The Hindu THINK POSITIVE: V. Chandra, resource person, handling an NIE session at St.Joseph's Girls Higher Secondary School in the city. Photo: M. Moorthy

Imagine if an entire hour in class were dedicated to simply feeling good. The recent NIE session at St.Joseph’s Girls Higher Secondary School, Ponmalai, was about consciously seeing the brighter side of life.

The first module under ‘Secret of Success’ established positive thinking as the keystone for success. Banking on the belief that a story can capture the attention of even the most distracted student, V. Chandra, resource person, narrated a tale that struck a chord with the girls. The anecdote of Meera who spent a sleepless night worrying over a maths test and an important volleyball tournament on the same day, wondering whether the performance in the former may impact the latter, was reminiscent of their own predicament. In a metaphorical twist to the tale, the narrator introduced the blessing tree, which held abundant wishes, that could be opened up only by positive thoughts.

Cultivating positive thinking is more action than thought, said Ms.Chandra, asking students to draw up a list of three of their happiest moments, skills and talents, traits they wished people would recognise in them and traits they wished they possessed. Analysing one’s strengths is the first step to believing in oneself which in turn can spur positive vibes.

Ms.Chandra laid emphasis on the power of a simple smile and positive utterances to reaffirm confidence. Yet, there are times when negative thoughts crowd the mind. In such instances, replace every negative thought with a positive affirmation. The class was divided into two groups. While the first brought up discouraging and de-motivating statements on why something could not be done by students, the other group countered every statement with an encouraging possibility.

Keywords: NIE session