“In the realm of education,
storytelling stands as a
timeless and transformative
tool that bridges the gap between
information and understanding.” 
Hannah Young

I learned many things in my teaching career. One important lesson is this: “Some kids get it, and some don’t… and never will.”

As pessimistic as these words might sound, I am in no way referring to a student’s intellectual ability to grasp a concept. I can work with that. Rather, I’m talking about a student’s attitude toward learning. Some kids enter a classroom believing that they already know everything they’ll ever need to know, and that they are wasting their time in the formal school setting. A smaller number of students simply have no desire to learn anything from anyone.

At the end of each academic year, students in most high schools are invited and encouraged to evaluate their teachers. Forms are provided by the administration. The principal then discusses the results of these student evaluations with the teacher. Of course, administrators do their own in-class observations and evaluations, as well.

Sadly, it seems to be human nature for teachers to focus on the few negative student responses, rather than to bask in the light of the positive evaluations. I’ve been retired from teaching for almost ten years now. Of all the comments written by students in their evaluations, I recall only one: “Mr. Carroll doesn’t teach us anything. All he ever does is tell stories.”

Hmmm… Yeah, some kids just don’t get it. 

Storytelling was one of the primary tools I used to teach important concepts in my classes. Why? Well, in November 1972, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops published To Teach as Jesus Did for the purpose of providing insights to support and guide catholic school educators in their ministry. Anyone familiar with the Christian Scriptures knows that Jesus used parables to teach many important lessons. These parables were simple stories used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. If the use of storytelling was good enough for Jesus, I felt confident that it would be a useful educational tool for me, too.

In her September 2024 article “The Power of Storytelling in Education,” educator Hannah Young writes, “The art of storytelling has been woven into the fabric of human communication for millennia, playing a crucial role in how we convey knowledge, values, and cultural heritage.” She goes on to say that educators today are “rediscovering its profound impact on teaching and learning, driven by its ability to engage emotions, enhance memory retention, and foster cognitive development.”

Reading Young’s article makes me realize that, perhaps, storytelling simply was not a common pedagogical tool during my forty-plus years in the classroom. As I mentioned, I felt that if was good enough for Jesus, it was good enough for me. Now I feel vindicated as I read that educators today are “rediscovering” the profound impact of storytelling on teaching and learning. 

My former students may not recall the factual information pertaining to everything I presented in class, but, in recent years, many of them have told me that they have vivid recollections of the stories I told in class. I am confident that these students intuitively grasped the valuable messages and meanings contained in these stories.