I found the section on indigenous learning very interesting. (33) The idea of learning through ones culture and the experiences within that culture are the foundations of each persons development. As mentioned in the text, story telling and the oral tradition are forms of learning that are often used by African-American women. These stories are meant to tell of the various experiences one has in everyday life. Examples of these stories were recorded by Zora Neale Hurston, who traveled around the United States and listen to many African-Americans tell their histories. In a Hunter College history class we learned that oral history is as valid as written history but there is different criteria that has to be followed. Story telling reminds me of when I was a child and my grandfather told us stories of life on the farm when he was growing up in New Hampshire in the early 1900's. Although my grandfather was not African-American he related his early life experiences through telling stories. The stories were humorous and always had a lesson embedded in them. His descriptions were so vivid that I could imagine what it was like to live on a farm. The oral tradition remained an essential part of his life until he died at the age of 95 and my sisters and I never tired of hearing his stories. What is interesting to me is that this storytelling was the foundation of his early experiences even though his life took him in another direction. He graduated from high school and college and became a businessman and community leader. Clearly his early traditions remained with him and were passed on to his children and grandchildren.
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ReplyDeleteI found the section on indigenous learning very interesting. (33) The idea of learning through ones culture and the experiences within that culture are the foundations of each persons development. As mentioned in the text, story telling and the oral tradition are forms of learning that are often used by African-American women. These stories are meant to tell of the various experiences one has in everyday life. Examples of these stories were recorded by Zora Neale Hurston, who traveled around the United States and listen to many African-Americans tell their histories. In a Hunter College history class we learned that oral history is as valid as written history but there is different criteria that has to be followed.
ReplyDeleteStory telling reminds me of when I was a child and my grandfather told us stories of life on the farm when he was growing up in New Hampshire in the early 1900's. Although my grandfather was not African-American he related his early life experiences through telling stories. The stories were humorous and always had a lesson embedded in them. His descriptions were so vivid that I could imagine what it was like to live on a farm. The oral tradition remained an essential part of his life until he died at the age of 95 and my sisters and I never tired of hearing his stories. What is interesting to me is that this storytelling was the foundation of his early experiences even though his life took him in another direction. He graduated from high school and college and became a businessman and community leader. Clearly his early traditions remained with him and were passed on to his children and grandchildren.