Students at Aromas Elementary School were treated to an unusual
class on Friday.
Students at Aromas Elementary School were treated to an unusual class on Friday.
Awele Makeba, a professional storyteller, shared several stories with the children and teachers. But she didn’t just recite the tales – she brought them to life.
When a greedy cat devoured a piece of ham, the storyteller – who performs as Awele – let out an embarrassed burp. When Br’er Possum fled from Br’er Snake, Awele ran in place, shouting out accompanying “boogity boogity boogity” sound effects.
And the children responded to her “call and response” style with shouts and laughter.
Before spinning her tales, Awele told the audience about her grandmother’s advice: “Whenever you hear a story, or read a story, you need to look inside it.” Within each story, Awele said, is a nugget of wisdom.
And in every story that she told, whether it was about cats and dogs or the eldest daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., Awele asked the students to find a lesson.
She held two sessions on Friday, one for kindergartners and first-graders, the other for second- and third-graders. The last story she told the older students was about a greedy farmer who traps a rival’s mule in a ditch. However, as the farmer tries to bury the mule, the mule simply brushes the dirt off and rubs it into the ground. When the hole is full, the mule is standing on top of it.
Awele told the students that they should follow the mule’s example: “Shake it off, stomp it down and rise to the next level.”
A trio of girls lingered after class. Although they all enjoyed the event, the girls differed on which story was the hour’s highlight.
One of them exclaimed, “I liked it when the cat burped.”
Terry Strasser, the school’s arts specialist, said Awele’s stories were “riveting.” She said she was excited to have an internationally renowned storyteller come to Aromas.
“This is a school that honors art education,” Strasser said.
The assembly was sponsored by the Aromas Home and School Club.
Awele told the Free Lance her love of storytelling began when she was a child.
“My dad told us lots of stories, although Momma said they were lies,” she said.
Awele, who lives in Oakland, places herself in the black oral tradition, which she said is a distinct art form from written storytelling. An oral storyteller, she said, uses three tools: sound and sound effects, movement and gesture, and emotions and attitude.
“(Those elements) may or may not be in written stories,” Awele said. “But they’re always in the oral tradition.”
And although her stories aren’t just for children, Awele said she loves working with children because they’re such an enthusiastic audience.
“They’re so free, so uninhibited,” she said.
Awele added that she works with teachers to explore nontraditional methods of promoting literacy and bringing social science and history to life.
“I try to encourage everyone to discover stories about themselves,” she said. “It helps us to understand who we are.”
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at (831) 637-5566 ext. 330 or
ah*@fr***********.com
.
