I started my career in a prison. My job description stated that I was to teach literacy and life skills to young offenders who were awaiting trial, but I was given no real tools with which to do so. So I made things up on the fly! We did yoga, played Boggle, and watched recorded episodes of The Simpsons as a reward.
Pedagogically I would not say I was on the cutting edge but this was more than twenty years ago and I was 22-years-old. I barely knew or understood myself, so teaching life skills to young people who had seen more of life's challenges than I had was a tall order.
One thing I knew, though, was the importance of a good story. If I could hold their attention with a story we could get something accomplished together. And if given the opportunity to share their own stories they would. Relationships in detention were scaffolded by stories.
Fast forward two decades, and as a professor of Education and learning consultant I continue to look to storytelling to support relationships. Narrative acts as a bridge builder between myself and others, be they students, colleagues or friends. I write and teach about narrative reframing and pedagogies of care which are both terms that speak to the inherent power of sharing stories.
Taking this idea a step further, narrative reframing means looking at an issue, a problem, and centering a story for more than just context (the way one might in a marketing context). I’m talking about the empathetic centre of a story. Because it is in the empathetic center that we find the true self and the authentic other.
Then using narrative details we can work through to the other side of a challenging situation with understanding. As we ask about what happened and why, the who (has been hurt) and the how (to get through it) become more clarified. And with clarity comes the possibility for learning and healing. But the practice of narrative reframing takes exactly that: practice! It requires that we start to name issues and conflicts for what they are as opposed to avoiding them or brushing them under the emotional rug. This kind of reframing requires that we face our pain and face ourselves in the process--in and beyond the classroom. The truth is that reframing something hurtful into a learning opportunity takes more than a simple shift in perspective. It takes tools and a team!
So, the three-step process of what I’m calling Narrative Reframing:
Step one requires that we theorize (sometimes out loud!) to move through to the next step in reframing. Name it and claim it! Simple on the surface, but the truth is naming the hurt or challenge is not always obvious. We spiral in the emotion of the event and get stuck where it isn't mentally healthy to remain. So dig in to name what is is. Acknowledge the abandonment of a loved one or the impact of a school colleague's careless words.
Step two requires some educated guess work. To determine actionable steps forward through life's hurdles we have to hypothesize and gather tools to make movement possible. Maybe that tool is talking to a trusted friend or perhaps it's journalling and time spent in moving meditation. This iterative step can feel vulnerable especially as teachers where we spend much of our day being the one students turn to for answers. We want to move through pain quickly, efficiently. But it might take a few tries to find the right tool. What John Maxwell calls "failing forward" (Maxwell, 2000) is necessary for us to determine what tools are most helpful.
Step three in the reframing process is where storytelling really takes hold. The new story we can choose to tell ourselves is more interesting, more hopeful, thanks to the work we have done and continue to do in our effort to move through to the other side of struggle. Our story of who we are as educators has the potential to change with a new chapter written or the inclusion of an alternative ending. Narrative reframing means we can reorient our whole lives through the stories we tell to and of ourselves.
Therapists often use the word "reframe" and for good reason. But adding the word “narrative” to the act of reframing can affect much change beyond the therapy session. I’ve done therapy and I’ll probably go back to it at some point. It’s one of the tools in the toolbox! But my own daily reframing practice is ongoing. It has emerged from a personal grappling with pain: divorce, loss, judgement. These were all stories that have narratively shaped my world. And it has been my daily practice to reframe how those stories are told, owning what is mine to own and narrating anew characters and plot lines that have to be released for my own mental well being, where I have finally experienced healing.
It’s a powerful thing to own and tell my story as a teacher and lifelong learner. Especially to myself. That option is also extended to you. So I encourage you in 2023 to reframe and tell a new educational story -- one page at a time.