Repairing & Healing Community through Storytelling Creates Belonging

If we want to build ecosystems of belonging where all members of the learning community feel connected and supported, we can look to the power of storytelling to ensure they feel heard and understood.
Storytelling is a concept that has been widely studied across many disciplines from information science to civic participation. Early in my Fulbright inquiry, I spoke to artist Eleni Glinou about meaning-making and the power of storytelling for self-reflection. We also spoke about the generational trauma throughout Greek history and the impact of that trauma on society.
It is impossible to live in Greece and not feel the power of storytelling. From the Greek myths to Homer's epic Odyssey and the heroes of the 1821 revolution, these stories and characters come alive here. Furthermore, the national curriculum values the narrative of ancient Greece as the birthplace of democracy. In 2022 Greek teachers face the challenge of making meaning not of ancient history but of a post-pandemic world. Schools are performing the invisible role of educators everywhere: healing, repairing, and strengthening their communities.
Why healing? In 2020 Froma Walsh described the ways families are multi-stressed. Two years later her list is still so relevant: "Loss, tragic death, threatened loss, loss of physical contact with families and social networks, job loss, uncertain financial security and livelihood, loss of their old way of life, threatened loss of hopes and dreams for the future, a loss of a sense of normalcy, shattered assumptions about life," ambiguity, uncertainty, and depression
But is healing this trauma the job of education? The answer lies in belonging. Neither teachers nor students can feel like they belong when they are in pain, grieving, or anxious about an uncertain future. A mindset shift is needed to help facilitate community healing. We have all experienced some kind of loss and pandemic life is now the defining moment of our students’ lives. Fortunately, Walsh reminds us that a holistic approach is possible. Our western view is solution-focused. We hope for an “aha” moment or program that can solve a problem with a clear solution but “loss is not a problem to solve” (Walsh, 2020).
What role can schools play in healing?  We cannot ask any teacher who is not trained in therapy and psychology to do this work alone. It is not the role of the teacher to be a therapist but we can apply some concepts: 

1. “Grieving is not in synch.” All children experienced some kind of pandemic loss. How they express it or experience the loss will vary by culture, family, and other factors. Be prepared to be tolerant of these differences.
2. Weaving mindset. Think about balancing how we tell stories of uncertainty, collectively process what that uncertainty means, and model how to look forward. Adapting to what we lost isn’t about “getting over it” or “bouncing back.” It is about looking forward while weaving in acceptance of our loss.
3. Helplessness and confusion may be universal childhood experiences because of the pandemic, but we can help children heal by telling stories of resilience. Greek students learn many stories of resilience and around the world this theme is universal. Through storytelling, we can transform our students' memories of helplessness and confusion into a resilient mindset. They need explicit support in shifting their thinking from surviving and coping to adapting and finding ways to thrive. In Heraklion, we experienced an earthquake simulator at the Natural History Museum of Crete. Earthquakes cannot be predicted but they are a fact of life in many countries of the Mediterranean region. An EU partnership helped fund this simulator and educational exhibit to help children understand what an earthquake will feel like so they are prepared and can respond with calm and resilience.
4.  Community healing requires us to learn the importance of interdependence. As teachers, we need to rely on each other and we should model for our students how we ask for support.
5. Work with students to be mindful of a positive outlook that points to hope and focuses on possibilities (Walsh, 2020).

Storytelling through sharing builds connection and strengthens community by grounding participants in shared common experiences that foster understanding (Maeder, 2018). Folklorist and poet Richard Stone describes storytelling as expressing who we are and how we fit in the world. Maeder, a sociologist, states that we see our lives in narrative form (2018). Storytelling teaches without preaching (Bedford, 2001). It helps us imagine another time and place. Storytelling is social-based informal learning (Kim & Ball, 2006) that creates critical thinking. Bedford (2001) argues that sharing our stories helps us find “universal in the particular” while Stone brings us back to the healing power of listening. He argues that we have to “listen deeply to find poetry in everyday life,” which grants us a new way to see ourselves, makes us more conscious of beauty, heightens our awareness, and opens us up to new ways of being. 
As I continue my research as a Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching recipient, I'm gathering the strategies Greek teachers use to strengthen community through storytelling.
Bedford, Leslie “Storytelling: The Real Work of Museums” in Curator: The Museum Journal. Vol 44, 1, January 2001.
Kim, Y., Ball-Rokeach, S., “Community Storytelling Network Context, and Civic Engagement: A Mulilevel Approach. “ Human Connection Research (2006) 32 p. 411-439
Maeder, C. (2018) The Creative Process. A Case for Meaning-Making. Qualitative Sociology Review. Volume XIV Issue 4.
Stone, R. The healing art of storytelling: A sacred journey of personal discovery. 2005 Authors Choice Press, New York.
Walsh, F. (2020) “Loss and Resilience in the Time of COVID-19: Meaning Making, Hope and Transcendence.” Family Process. Vol 59, no 3. Family Process Institute.