The Stories that Bind Us

After reading the article “The Stories that Bind Us” I agree with what the article said. The findings were that if children know about their family’s background they are more able to deal with stress better and perform better when faced with challenges. I agree that children need to know the stories of their families and it is not always good to “hide the skeletons in the closet”, it is part of their family history and things should not be pushed under to rug. Sometimes it is the challenges that can pull a family together and make them even stronger. The article also discussed that fact that corporations are developing mission statements for their employees so that they too can work better and form stronger alliances, and having one for the family will work too. This I am not so sure maybe a good idea because unfortunately people do die or move away and generations change and new families are created. Having a strong sense of family instilled at a young age, and nothing hidden from each other I believe will give children the strength they need to grow and mature, and is one of the best things you can do for your children.

As for using the implications of the study to create projects for students I believe might be hard. First of all I plan on teaching very low functioning students with autism (basically I will be teaching daily living skills) and their cognitive ability for this type of project will probably not be up to par. If however, I am in a classroom that will allow for this type of project, I think I would have the students develop a family tree and then let them present it to the class with one story from their family about struggles that might have occurred. Once the students have presented all their stories I think I would then have an open discussion on how the things that have happened in the families can help to create success for themselves and or their family.