Teaching facts is good.
Telling stories is better.
Our brains are wired for stories – we latch onto tales far more readily than we do onto dates or terminology. As a teacher, I’m increasingly leaning into storytelling as a way of using that human superpower to make knowledge more sticky in brains.
It’s why I teach the shape of the major scale by saying, “Someday I hope you say about your time in this choir classroom ‘We were happy when we were here.'”
It’s why I might deliver an idea about melodicism with a story about sitting by the water with Alice Parker.
It’s why I might paint a picture from my own life as a way to engage students with poetic language in a text.
Storytelling is a powerful tool for engaging memory. But personal storytelling can also be a powerful tool for connection – another essential ingredient in outstanding teaching.
Your students might look at you quizzically, or think you’re misusing time for seemingly turning away from the lesson at hand. That’s okay. Use storytelling anyway. It works.