A Story Exchange: 姆 Meets Waynflete

Last week the Irish-American author 姆 came to Portland on a mission. He wanted to tell the story of 叙述4, an organization of authors and artists dedicated to mending our social fabric through cultivating “fearless hope” and “radical empathy” in youth (Colum co-founded 叙述4 and currently serves as president). He also came to hear the story of Waynflete, because of what he had been told about the school.  

Colum held a public talk in Franklin Theater in the evening, in which he read from several of his novels, including his most recent one that is just now heading to publication, 并讨论了叙事4. 叙述4 had sent an advanced team to train 27 上学校 students as facilitators of their signature activity, 故事交换. 在他的演讲中, Colum referred to Waynflete as a “visionary school” for our work promoting dialogue as an essential skill and mindset, which he saw as well aligned with the goals of 叙述4.

第二天, we suspended classes and dedicated the time to 故事交换 and other related activities. Our intent was to strengthen the 上学校 community, hone dialogue skills (including deep listening), 培养同情心, give a cohort of students the opportunity to lead, and provide students with an important experience aligned with the annual New England Youth Identity Summit, which Waynflete co-sponsors with Seeds of Peace.

While my expectations for the day were high, it turned out even better than I had hoped. Colum delivered an inspiring talk, spinning tales worthy of the master storyteller he is and challenging students to, at least for a time in their lives, “do the things that do not compute” and “jump off cliffs and grow wings on the way down.” After his talk, four brave students demonstrated a story exchange to the entire high school. Then the trained student facilitators went to work orchestrating story exchanges with every 上学校 homeroom. One student’s description of the powerful experience of 故事交换 is 链接在这里.

After a lunch break that featured the head of school and others dishing out ice cream sundaes in the Atrium, we headed off to the gym for “Who’s in the Room?”,  an activity that highlights the hidden diversity in any community. We then held small group conversations reflecting on the day, and ended back in the theater where the student facilitators shared their hopes for our community. A sampling of their hopes, which speak eloquently to the impact of the day, is 链接在这里.

The day ended with music that turned Franklin Theater into a happy house party. 视频是 链接在这里.

I am always interested to hear an outsider’s view of our school. 客座教育家, who was observing 故事交换, participated in the training and helped out with the logistics during the all-school story exchange. In a follow-up email, she had this to say about Waynflete:

“Thank you for including me in these amazing days with 叙述4 at Waynflete; it is an experience I shall cherish and build upon. I was blown away by the phenomenal energy at the school, and how brave and articulate the Waynflete students are, and how generous and passionate the faculty is. It was a pleasure meeting all of you.”

The word “generous” used to describe the faculty especially caught my eye. I don’t think that most faculties get described that way, but “generous” is a word I frequently use to describe our faculty and staff when I am asked what makes Waynflete the school it is. 最重要的是要聪明, 熟练的, 还有热情的教育者, they are remarkably generous in how they open up themselves to being in authentic relationships with our students.

Such openness and authenticity by adults in a school community is a powerful teaching fuel that goes a long way towards generating the qualities our guest observed. The story exchange is an effective method for building understanding in a community, and our students were primed to take full advantage of the opportunity—as leaders and participants—in large part because of the culture our faculty so generously embraces each day.

We are all lucky to be a part of it.