Narrative of Life and Education

¶ … Jerome Bruner makes in his book Making Stories: Law, Literature, Life. When I read this for the first time, it seemed a little strange to me. I am certainly not aware of almost constantly using stories as I go through my routine every day. But as the book went on, it became clear to me that this is true. Life itself is almost constructed as a story. From this understanding, it is possible to apply Bruner's ideas to education in order to make the process and meaningful and intriguing one for students.

One of the first points Bruner makes is that we seldom think critically about the way in which we make stories out of reality:

"In any case, whatever the source of our odd reticence, we rarely inquire as to the shape reality is give when we dress it up as a story. Common sense stoutly holds that the sotyr form is a transparent window on reality, not a cookie cutter imposing state on it." (Bruner, 2002, p. 6).

When thinking about education, this idea gives me a sense of how important narrative can be in the educational process. By dressing up the realities of subject matter as a story, for example, the teacher can make the material far more accessible to students. The fact that stories are part of everyday life in an almost subversive way can be used in education to help students not only grasp academic material more easily, but also to retain information and apply it in practical terms. Because narrative is an almost subconscious part of our lives, we can use this effectively in the classroom. As Bruner (2002, p. 10) states about narrative:

"It offers alternative worlds that put the actual one in a new light. Literature's chief instrument in creating this magic is, of course, language: its tropes and devices that carry our meaning-making beyond banality into the realm of the possible."

Literature can, of course, be most effectively used in the language classroom to help students understand the mechanics of language. However, it can also be used in the philosophy classroom to determine the most effective way to interact with others, to think about life, or to make ethical decisions.

The author also asserts that the legal profession makes regular use of narratives. These are then used by attorneys to construct the version of each client as a type of reality. The skill with which attorneys are able to do this is, more often than not, the determinant of winning or losing the case.

Stories and story construction can therefore have a significant impact not only on the way in which human beings conduct their lives, but also on the way in which their professional and educational lives progress. When education is successful, students can begin to construct their own stories. Another important assertion is, however, that these stories always need a firm basis in reality (Bruner, 2002, p. 12):

"Some points are becoming clearer. Literary narrative, to achieve its effect, must have its roots in familiar territory, in the seemingly real. Its mission, after all, is to make the familiar strange again, to transmute the declarative into the subjunctive."