Newsletter #4
Story Regions: Pilot project in the city of Tongeren:
Socially vulnerable parents and children at school
The first Belgian pilot was organised by Alden Biesen in cooperation with the PCSW (Public Centre for
Social Welfare) of Tongeren, Vorming Plus Limburg (non-formal adult education organisation), Lokaal
Overleg Platform (local school communication platform), TAO (the association of experience experts),
and storyteller Rien Van Meensel. The pilot targeted parents with less opportunities, financial constraints,
in vulnerable conditions with children at school.
The objective of this pilot was to find out what it means for the parents to raise a child under these
circumstances and to introduce storytelling as an instrument to help surface the thoughts and feelings of
these vulnerable parents and help them connect with society. Two concrete products were envisaged:
a video recording from the people of the target group telling about their experiences, their wishes and
desires concerning their children’s school and a booklet in which their stories are bundled and framed.
These final products will be used in a training offer of Vorming Plus in different schools and (parent)
organisations on the topic of ‘Parent Participation and Education’.
7 storytelling sessions (3 hours each) were organised, 10 parents took part
Session 1: Getting to know each other
Exercise 1: Tell the story of your name
The first exercise is done in pairs to lower the threshold, then it is repeated in the group.
Aim: to discover that our name has a story and that it tells something about us.
Who are you named after (a relative, a celebrity, a person from a religious or literary work?)
Do you know why you have that name? How do you feel about your name?
Exercise 2: My family
First in pairs, afterwards we share the experience with the whole group.
Present yourself as a family member or friend of… and link it to a memory or characterization.
Exercise 3: Telling about the children the history of their name and an animal they like
Aim: Introducing the theme, the story of the child’s name and tell about the children in a playful way,
the animal possibly being a metaphor of the child’s personality.
Session 2: Introducing the theme: school
Exercise 1: Tell us about your experiences in primary school
How did you go to school, what did it look like and can you tell a positive anecdote? First in pairs, asking
questions about the description of the school (see, hear, smell, feel) to make it possible to imagine the
school. After that they tell it to the group. We ask for positive experiences because negative ones will come
anyway.
Exercise 2: tell about the interest of your parents for your life at school
Aim: to hear the story about their own parents. This also explains in a way who they are and what they want
for their children.
Exercise 3: How did you see your future as an adult when you were a child?
Aim: going back to a fantasy world and create a relaxing atmosphere.
Session 3: Daily life
Exercise 1: How does an ordinary morning look like?
Aim: the classic morning and evening ritual is a story in itself. There is a lot of action and often humour
linked to it. The participants discover that they can tell. Meanwhile, you can hear the big differences
between the different families: from chaos to real organisational structures.
Session 4: the story of the children
Exercise 1: Tell the story of your child(ren)’s school
Which school is it? Why did you choose this school and how was the 1st school day? Have you ever visited
this school yourself?
Exercise 2: How would you have liked the school to be?
What was OK and what would you have preferred to be different?
Aim: to hear the story of the children. There are lots of stories!
Session 5 : Parent meetings and school structures
Exercise 1: Tell us about the parent meetings.
Exercise 2: Did you read the school rules?
Do you know the parent council?
Are there agreements on birthdays?
Exercise 3: What are your dreams and hopes for your child(ren)?
Aim: going back to a fantasy world and a hopeful ideal world and create a relaxing atmosphere. Finding out
how they cope with formal contacts and structures.
Session 6 : The ideal school
Exercise 1: Create the ideal school together.
Design, use symbols and words.
Aim: Collaboration and discussions about the theme in an informal, creative way.
Exercise 2: Everyone gets a collection of his stories on paper and a surprising title for the life story
as a gift.
Aim: If one looks back and reads the story and the title, one might discover that something has changed
over time, that there is a recurring theme throughout the story.
In this project we choose to work with stories and life stories. By telling stories about ourselves we learn to
know who we are. People learn to really appreciate the richness of their experience when they are invited
to tell. This way people and stories get a place: in the community, in current events, in front of other people.
The self-image changes. It is fascinating to sit in a circle and just listen and occasionally speak. And we
should not forget the effect of the circle: in the circle everyone is equal. Everyone tells his story.
Together with the participants we made a journey using the methodology of storytelling, telling life stories.
They told about their own experiences with school and learning as a child, about the current experiences
with their children and their dreams for the future. Together they have drawn and mapped the ideal school.
And they listened to each other with great attention!
Stories evoke other stories. Storytelling techniques help people to remember things, to evoke images, to
express themselves. The creative part made people work together, find humour and helped to mould ideas
into a presentable form. You could see the participants open up and get the courage to speak. By listening
to the stories of the others they became conscious that they were not alone in this situation. Throughout our
meetings the positive effects of storytelling in a circle became clear: people grow when they can tell their
story, they start to reflect and seize opportunities.
A video about reflections and feedback on this pilot can be viewed on the project website. A second video
will travel to other schools and parent organisations to make them aware of the situation and feelings of
parents with less opportunities.
Follow Story Regions on www.storyregions.eu and through these regular Newsletters.
Project partners:
Region Västerbotten, coordinator (Sweden)
Landcommanderij Alden Biesen (Belgium)
Q21, Agency for Qualification and Transfer Management (Germany)
Bielskie Stowarzyszenie Artystyczne Teatr Grodzki (Poland)
Scuola Holden (Italy)