Relating to Students through Stories

說故事與師生互動

黃里愛(Li-Ai Huang)

《Hwa Kang Journal of English Language & Literature》 6期 (2000/07) Pp. 61-71

https://doi.org/10.7109/HKJELL.200007.0061

摘要

面對普遍充斥於今日大專院校學生間的不滿、不安、與幻想破滅等問題，教學工作越來越困難了。作者回憶，昔日的師生關係與今日相較，真可說是天壤之別。昔日師生關心的問題常是一致的，但今日則常南轅北轍。究竟這一切是什麼造成的呢？
過分重視傳授冰冷的理論、實務知識、科技與語言技能是造成師生關係惡化的原因。教師關心的重點常是教導學生如何彈鋼琴、如何寫作、如何講外國語，而非學生本身。學生們學習到使用電腦、修理機器、記賬等各種實用的技能，但卻不懂爲人之道。他們不知如何做一個稱職的「人」，不懂如何與人相處。
作者以爲我們忽略了教育的真正目標，以致喪失了師生間原本應有的關係。教育真正的目標應是發展學生健全的人格。學生了解自己的本質與潛能，才可能發展出健全的人格。幫助學生了解真正的自我與潛能，老師需要扮演如助產士的角色。這不是一項輕鬆的工作，因爲它牽涉到幫助學生自我了解，了解自己的喜怒哀樂與自我價值。
要達成此項目標的一個方法就是說故事。從故事中，學生可以經由真實生活的人物或虛構故事中的角色認同並反省自己，進而發現並認識自己。老師將切身的故事告訴學生時，更可在學生認同故事中的人、事時吸引他們進入我們的生活。作者希望藉此文探討學生與老師如何藉由說故事這個簡單但意義深遠的方法，尋回失落的師生關係，達到相互溝通的方法。

並列摘要

Due to the overriding discontentment, disillusionment and general listlessness, among college and university students today, teaching has become an increasingly difficult task. The author's own recollection is that students and teachers used to relate to each another far better than they do now. The questions we asked were also their questions. What was important to us was also important to them. One wonders what happened?
It is the author's belief that the genuine pedagogical relationship between teacher and students has been lost because we have lost sight of the aim of education—the development of the full personality of each student which can only be effected if students understand the true potential that lies within them. However, this is only possible if teachers can serve as midwives in helping students .find their genuine selves. This is a daunting task for it implies that students need to begin to know who they are, what they care for, and what their values are if their education be truly fruitful.
One way to achieve this is through storytelling. For through stories, students can identify themselves with characters from real life or imagined stories and through reflection discover important insights about themselves. Moreover, the stories we teachers tell about ourselves often draw them into our lives as they are able to identify themselves with our stories. In this paper the author will attempt to describe how the storyteller, be it the teacher or the student, is able to make connection with one another through the simple exercise of sharing a story.