Lower School Music Teacher Guenevere Finley attended the Friends Council on Education workshop “Learning in the Light.” This workshop focused on the telling of stories through the practices of Godly Play. Former Westtown 6th grade teacher Melinda Bradley led the workshop. Recently, Guenevere demonstrated the practice during Lower School Faculty Meeting by telling us a story about Meeting for Worship.
Guenevere writes:
I thoroughly enjoyed and feel more whole as an educator and in my spiritual life because of this training. It not only gave me tools to help our young students navigate spirituality but gave me tools with which to meet my students where they are and wonder with them about things. The questioning and student participation aspects of this style of story telling are such that there is complete safety and any answer or contribution is honored and considered that child’s truth at that time. There are no wrong answers.
The words in the stories are chosen so carefully. In one of the stories about meeting for worship it says that the messenger speaks clearly using as few words as possible but as many as are needed. I have really taken this to heart as a goal in my teaching and life.
In A Class Of Our Own 