“The moments when a student who has been struggling all semester to really make that connection with their stories all of the sudden does a performance, and they just blossom, and they grow.”
By Brittney Payette
Managing Editor
Storytelling is a class that had not been previously taught at Cameron until now. This semester, the class is from 11 to 12:15 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays in the Academic Commons. Instructor and Director of Forensics Katie Stringer is teaching Storytelling for the first time. She said the main reason why she wanted to teach this class was that she had taken a Storytelling class twice, once while pursuing her undergraduate degree and once while pursuing her master’s.
“I got to take this course at my varying Universities,” Stringer said. “Both times, it was my favorite class I took.”
Stringer said that storytelling is a passion of hers.
“I love storytelling,” she said. “It gives you the opportunity to tell things in a different way.”
Stringer said that people may not realize it, but they use storytelling every day.
“People don’t even realize how it is around you constantly,” she said. “I would love for my students to take away the fact that storytelling is all around you.”
Stringer said that there is a multitude of ways people use storytelling in their daily lives.
“Storytelling is not just telling kids a nighttime story,” she said. “Storytelling can be something like selling your good assets of a job interview, or simply doing something like telling your friends about your day. It’s all a version of storytelling. Storytelling is an intricate part of your everyday life. ”
Stringer said she would love to teach the class again.
“It is a really cool elective to take,” she said, “and a wonderful opportunity to get to have some knowledge about this thing that a lot of people find very intimidating when in reality, most of us do it, and we don’t even realize it. I would also like to teach it again to also give more students an opportunity to take it. Including some who are outside of the major.”
Stringer said she created the curriculum for the Storytelling class by combining her knowledge from the Storytelling classes she took, online research she did, and using her imagination.
“If I was a student here at Cameron, what would I want to see,” she said. “What would I want to learn? What was something that I wish I had been taught? And so, I take all three of those things; I combined them into this class… overall, I’m pretty happy with the content.”
Stringer said her favorite part of teaching a class is towards the end when a student has what she calls an “I gotcha” moment.
“The moments when a student who has been struggling all semester to really make that connection with their stories all of the sudden does a performance, and they just blossom, and they grow.”
Stringer said what she sincerely wants people to know is that anyone can take this class.
“Whatever level of experience you have,” she said, “whatever level of life experience you have, all of us have a story. And all of our stories matter.”
Junior Accounting major Mikel Weatherspoon is one of the students taking the new class this semester.
“I decided to take this class last semester when I had a previous class with Katie,” Weatherspoon said. “She was teaching the professional speaking course and the class went very well and she kept us engaged.”
Weatherspoon said he rated the new Storytelling class a 12 out of 10.
“Katie establishes a great atmosphere in the class,” he said. “A really safe learning environment. Everybody feels connected. She keeps it well-rounded. Shout out to Katie Stringer.”
Weatherspoon said he is looking forward to telling his Children’s story soon.
“I look forward to moving my body in ways that the people are not looking forward to seeing. I like to catch people off guard. She’s getting me very excited about doing so.”
Weatherspoon said he wants more people to take the class.
“I feel like people are really missing out on the opportunities they have at hand here,” he said. “The atmosphere Katie builds for the class is really welcoming. She keeps us engaged, and she makes it very clear that everybody matters.”
For more information about the class, contact the Communication, English, and Foreign Languages chair Dr. Von Underwood at vonu@cameron.edu.