Testimonials

Testimonials from Swapping Stories Participants

"My students indicated that they found this experience to be not only one of the most meaningful and helpful experiences in the course, but also in their entire teacher preparation program.": Peter Rennert-Ariev, Teacher Education Instructor, U. MD.
"It makes me feel great that we have some one to sit down with and talk to us and listen to us.": Student storyteller
"I haven't seen my grandparents that much. (My partner) made me feel warm inside; like my grandparents. She paid attention when I was talking.": Elementary school storyteller
"Dear Ms. Klevins, Thank you so much for showing me how important old folks are. They really do make a difference in the world! And I really mean it.": Elementary school storyteller
"I learned about seniors that they are nice, good storytellers, cool, friendly and warm. I learned to improve my listening, speaking and performing.": Elementary school storyteller
"I didn't know how important my story was until my partner told it to the group. It made me feel lucky to be alive.": Middle school storyteller
"They (the students) give me hope for a better world!": Adult storyteller
"This was an amazing experience. I just sort of stumbled into it and came out wiser. Wonderful. Should be a requirement for life.": Adult storyteller
"I learned to trim my story to a time limitation.": Adult storyteller
"The older generation is cool too.": Middle school storyteller
"The adults are very experienced and could teach the world a lot. My listening skills were improved because I learned how important it is to get to know someone new through listening.": Middle school storyteller
"I learned to listen very attentively and try to visualize the story. I also learned to speak to all listeners instead of only one of them and/or the camera.": Adult storyteller
"Before we started this swapping storytelling I was a little bit nervous and afraid to fail ... but at the end it was really fun.": High school storyteller
"Everybody has something interesting to tell; nobody is boring!": High school storyteller
"Please, let's do this again.": Middle school storyteller
"They're (students) very, very sharp, very intelligent": Senior storyteller
"I grew closer to that person (partner) when I had to really understand her and represent her in class; I had a strong desire for her to understand me as well. When you tell your own story, you share feelings. When you tell someone else's story, you share events; attention to the senses; importance of paying attention and being supportive.": Workshop Participant at U. Md.
"What I liked about it was that you got to make friends with seniors.": Student storyteller
"I especially admire the training you provided in generating conversations where each party actually grew into the experience of the other. I think your scarf dance, for example, created each person's realization of the give-and-take of true conversation, along with its best qualities of flow and appreciation.
When I saw the anticipation of children listening to stories of people who were no longer strangers, and then observed the engagement that resulted from the children's own life stories, I wished that education everywhere could produce personal connection so true and so enlivening. The senior man who remarked how impressed he was by nine-year-olds after this experience expressed a revelation we all shared by watching conversations develop between people whose respective ages were less important than the growing communication they were cultivating.": Mary Bullock, Former English Teacher and Adult Education Consultant
"'Swapping Stories' is such a valuable project that is rare in its ability to help people come together across age, ethnic, and cultural barriers. The participants were a very diverse group, with many of the school children being minority 'newcomers' and many of the seniors being Caucasian 'old-timers.' You could tell the senior-youngster pairs hit it off, and that what you were seeing was just the visible end product of a growing relationship.
Also, storytelling is such a universal bond-producing experience to tellers and listeners alike, bringing a sense of value to the act of recollecting as well as the experiences that are recollected. For seniors it helps sharpen their minds and for youngsters it helps encourage them to value narrative as a positive form of self-expression.
Judy somehow brought these participants together and then seemed to step out of their way so they could develop their relationships on their own, without being forced. She remained in the background and let the storytellers be the deservedly proud stars.": Paula Endo, Director of Columbia Heights West Teen Photography Project