Cultural Curriculum Chat with Jebeh Edmunds

Season 7 Episode #16: The Power of Storytelling in Multicultural Education

• Jebeh Edmunds • Season 7 • Episode 16

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Storytelling is the heartbeat of cultural education. When students encounter stories from different backgrounds, something magical happens—they develop empathy, affirm their identities, and sharpen critical thinking skills that extend far beyond classroom walls.

Throughout this episode, we explore why multicultural stories are non-negotiable components of effective education. Stories engage the emotional centers of our brains, creating deeper connections to content than facts alone ever could. I share my experience using Maya Angelou's work about a young Xhosa girl and her pet chicken—a seemingly simple narrative that sparked profound conversations about cultural similarities and differences without judgment. We also examine the beloved Anansi the Spider folktales that resonate with students of all ages, demonstrating how traditional stories carry timeless wisdom across generations.

Finding authentic cultural stories requires intentionality. Seek out authors writing from lived experiences rather than those merely observing from the outside. Invite community members—parents, neighbors, local leaders—to share oral histories that might otherwise go untold, especially as books continue to be banned across the country. I provide a step-by-step guide to implementing the powerful "My Name, My Story" exercise in your classroom tomorrow, walking you through how to model vulnerability, facilitate meaningful partner discussions, and guide whole-group reflections that build community while honoring diversity.

Ready to transform your approach to cultural education? Download my name and narrative handout from the show notes, or explore my newly discounted mini-courses designed to help you implement these practices with confidence. Your students' stories are the curriculum—let's honor them together by creating classrooms where every narrative matters.


Maya Angelou's Book: My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken and Me

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Speaker 1:

Well, hello there, cultural champions, Welcome back to the Cultural Curriculum Chat. I'm your host, jebe Edmonds, and today we are unpacking the power of storytelling in multicultural education. Why it's non-negotiable, where you can find authentic stories, how to build one into your daily lessons. Stay with me for a special announcement on my newly priced mini and full courses designed to help you go from I want to try this to. I'm leading the charge in less than two hours. Let's dive in Now.

Speaker 1:

Storytelling is the heartbeat of culture. When we share stories, we're doing more than just reading words. We're weaving in empathy, identity and perspective, taking into every discussion when it's wrapped in a narrative versus straight facts. And why is that? Because stories engage the parts of our brain tied to emotion, memory and worldviews. Now, in multicultural education, stories do three things. One, they affirm identity. So when students hear their experiences reflected, their sense of belonging skyrockets. So think of it. A lot of students want to relate with their peers, and they also want to be affirmed that their identities might be different. So having people share their own lived experiences really opens up to understanding of different cultures, and by doing that, you also build empathy.

Speaker 1:

Hearing a story from another culture invites curiosity and not judgment. For example, we used to read this book when I taught my first graders Maya Angelou's book my Friend, my Pet Chicken and Me I'll have the correct title, it's just off the top of my head, but it showed this little girl who was a Xhosa girl in Southern Africa, and it talked about her day-to-day life going to school. She was about the kids' age, in first grade, and she had her favorite pet, her chicken. And how this story came about with Maya Angelou is she wanted to show a narrative, a story of other kids around the world that go to school just like you, and it also built empathy of understanding. Wow, this young girl has her friendly pet chicken and she loves telling her chicken her secrets because chickens can't speak and talk and share her secrets with her friends. So I would use this book as a wonderful example of where is in your life Do you write your secrets down on paper, do you share it with your pet dog or maybe your own pet chicken, and it just opens up a wide array of empathy and understanding. We might have the same type of routines going to school, doing chores but the really cool thing about it is we're not having judgment if this young girl has a pet chicken. You might know somebody who lives on a farm in America that also has pet chickens.

Speaker 1:

The third key thing about storytelling in multicultural education is sparking critical thinking. Students can compare, contrast and ask why, when multiple narratives are on the table, think about it. When you are sparking critical thinking, you might want to think about okay, this person did react to this particular event. Would you react in the same way? Would you react in the same way or how would you react differently? That also can help with sparking comparing and contrasting. Venn diagrams are one of the best graphic organizers. When you are having that spark of critical thinking, that's when students can look and see their similarities versus differences and their commonalities as well in the middle matrix of those Venn diagrams.

Speaker 1:

I love a good folktale and one of my favorite folktales was Anansi the Spider. I read it to my first graders and all the way up to my fifth graders and each student, no matter the grade level, really resonated with this trickster arachnid. He loved playing tricks on all the animals in the forest and the coolest thing about that is Anansi always got a taste of his own medicine. And so when you are thinking about what other folk tales or even stories that have been passed down from generation to generation in our families. That would be a wonderful way to seek out authentic stories that we all carry. Now, before we do that, find these stories, it's not enough to just Google diversity picture books or pick the first thing that pops up when it comes to oh let's see if we can find something here. No, your authenticity matters Now. These are some really good sources that I recommend Authors that have their own voices in their literature. I want you to seek out authors writing from their own lived experiences.

Speaker 1:

Invite community voices. I always say this in my show and in my podcast that your neighbors, your parents that are in adults, that are tied to your students' lives, are experts in the community. So invite a parent, a neighbor or even a local leader to share an oral history and also define what does oral history mean and how does that come about, and also the significance of why oral history is so important. So many things in our society today are being banned. Lived experience stories are being banned throughout the country. Even down to picture books about events in our history and present day have been banned and silenced. So when we're talking about oral history. Talk about the power of oral history. When things get erased or destroyed, it is that human connection, that human responsibility of our ancestors and elders to pass down those stories, those events, so they stay alive.

Speaker 1:

Primary artifacts I also talk about that. Primary artifacts I also talk about that. Letters, photos, songs and even podcasts from the cultural group themselves. We love primary sources, especially when it comes to, you know, factual things. So when you are having your primary artifacts, it also ties into the power of that multicultural story.

Speaker 1:

And again, another pro tip all right from this pro here rotate between genres, you know. Think about poetry, drama, graphic novels, short stories, so every learner can find a style that resonates with them. You know we want them to continue reading, so mixing up the genres really does help. Now some really cool exercises for you. I want you to spend 15 minutes this week Browse your library or your favorite independent bookstore and I want you to identify one book by an own voices author. Okay, I want you to jot down three ways you could leverage it across your reading, your writing and your social studies lessons. Pro tip if you can find it in your science lesson, even better. And I want you to share what you found on Instagram and tag me at culturallyjebe with the underscore sign at the end. I love spotlighting new discoveries and hopefully I can reach out to that author to have them be a guest on the show.

Speaker 1:

Now that we've talked about how to cultivate and find sources, we've also talked about the key factors in multicultural education. I also want us to think about us as the teacher, as the storyteller. Yes, you, I'm going to put you my dear in the storyteller's seat. Here's a really cool exercise and it's titled my Name, my Story. You can use this exercise tomorrow or even in the first six weeks, or even mid-semester of your curriculum pacing guide. Now I will show you how you can model, think, pair, share and have a whole group reflection. So, first thing is we're going to model, so I'm going to be your model, just as an example. I'm going to be your model just as an example, so I'm going to share who named me, what it means and a memory attached to my name. So then I will have my students pair up for about three minutes and I want them to also share who named them, what their name means and a memory attached to their name, and then I'm going to have us do a whole group reflection. I'm going to ask the class what surprised you? What connections did you find? Okay, so let me model this for you.

Speaker 1:

My name Jebe means lots of love. It's in my family's Vi Liberian dialect. My father named me after his favorite aunt, my great aunt, who was chief jebe I-J of the Vi people back home. This name of mine is full of love and my parents do love me with all of their heart. And another cool story about my name, of a memory that I don't remember but my mother shared it with me, was her memory. We went back to the land that my namesake, chief Jebe, owned and in our culture in Liberia we always share people that have passed on and are proud and had a really positive impact on their lives. We speak their names and my mother said I was a baby and she said we were at Chief Jebe's land and she passed on before I was born and all people were talking was Jebe, jebe, jebe, and she said she looked at me and I took my first steps on Chief Jebe's land and that was so profound that I landed on my mother's lap and they all started laughing and they had a wonderful time. And my mom always reminds me of that story. I know, with my name meaning love, I can also share love and kindness with everybody I meet.

Speaker 1:

Next I'm going to have my students find a partner and I also will remind them of what the rules are, because you know, educators, when you pair up your students, you always set the norms and the expectations. You know because sometimes when they pair up, they want to catch up and say, ok, here's the tea from what happened at recess, right, we're not going to do that. Or even with your high school students, you know they're going to be telling you all the tea at that last dance that they had, right. So you're going to keep it short and sweet to three minutes and you're going to say you know the first person in the partner you are going to share, who named you, what it means and a memory attached to your name, and so that person is going to share those three things. And remember to remind the listener in the pair group to just listen. We're not going to offer feedback, but we're just going to listen first. Listen, we're not going to offer feedback, but we're just going to listen first. Then, when they're done sharing, then you're going to tell your partner that shared. Thank you for sharing. All right, I noticed this about your memories, or I noticed this about your name meaning, or, oh, I like the meaning of your name, just an example. Then you're going to switch and that partner that was listening is going to share who named them, what it means and a memory attached to their name.

Speaker 1:

Now, after you do this for about six minutes total because we want to give them well, let's just give them three minutes because you know it could be real quick we want to do a really quick share because then you're going to get together as a whole group and I'm going to ask this question to my whole class Okay, what surprised you and what connections did you find? Now, when I'm talking to my elementary students, they're going to share what surprised them. Oh, I didn't know. Maxwell's name meant strong-willed, and that's my eldest son. Oh, mateo's name, my youngest son, means gift from God, interesting. Are there other religious connections of other names or is there something that also talks about somebody's personality? You know, what other connections can you find? It's a wonderful discussion and you can even go even further and create a poster of your student's name and what it means. So there's so many things that you can do Now.

Speaker 1:

If you need a handy-dandy worksheet for this activity, download my name and narrative handout, which is linked today in today's show notes. When you do this and you come together and catch on with storytelling and storytelling units, this is something that is so profound. I have a lesson bundle titled Cinderella Stories from Around the World, and this is something that is a wonderful case example of what you can use to kind of spark up multicultural stories from all over the world. It starts in fourth grade and, don't worry, I've got lots of other storytelling lesson plans for my primary ages, lesson plans for my primary ages, and you can look into those primary grade level apples on jebedminscom. There's lots and lots of lesson plans for you that will get you started on your storytelling journey. I want you to weave in storytelling into every subject area. That is my challenge for you, and if you have any other examples of a lesson plan that you have used in your multicultural educational curriculum, please share that with me in the comments. I'm looking for some wonderful ideas as well to continue this work Now when you are looking, for example, for multicultural story lessons like I said earlier, the Cinderella stories from around the world.

Speaker 1:

Each lesson comes with handouts, even quizzes and reflection questions, and it's really plug and play and ready to go. And I know we are on our summer vacay, but this is the time I always call it our summer institute in our cadence of our podcast series this year. So get yourself brushed up and ready to go. These lesson plans are downloadable instantly and you will have all the resources and tools that you can have at your disposal. You can purchase them anytime and again, get back to the beach and get back to your rest and restoration, because your girl, jeb, will walk you through step by step with what you need to do. And today, an extra bonus I have dropped the price on all of my mini courses. For example, who's in the room? Normally it's $500. It's down to less than $300. And empowering your BIPOC students, which is again slashed down for your summer institute-ready work as an educator.

Speaker 1:

Let's recap our plan for creating multicultural education by harnessing the power of storytelling. Choose authentic text, remember. I want you to find those own voices by the authors themselves and their lived experiences. I want you to do the lesson and the exercise of my name and my story with your class. Silent learner, you know, invite them to share. They could share it on a post-it note. They could share their favorite storytelling moment. It doesn't have to necessarily be from their own identity, but they could share it on a post-it note.

Speaker 1:

I always used to do those exit tickets with post-it notes and that could be it. You could just, you know, read an exit ticket, post it while you're doing transitions to share a student's response to their favorite story or folktale. If you want done-for-you guidance, slides, scripts and activities and community support, remember to grab my courses. Or you can go to wwwjebehedmundscom and you will see that first tab courses, where you can see all of the full details and order your own mini course, which is less than two hours, like you could even work on this and still continue with your day. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey into the power of storytelling. If you loved this episode, please leave a review, share it with a colleague and tag me on social at culturallyjebba underscore. Keeping doing what you're doing, uplifting every learner's voice, because their stories are the curriculum. See you next time on the Cultural Curriculum Chat.