Power of Metaphors & Stories

When you want a child to remember something, it is best to use an analogy, metaphor or story. From my observation these tend to leave an impression especially if vividly used. Just using plain advice will likely be lost on them. They are unlikely to be really listening after a couple of minutes; and they usually find adults boring and "po po ma ma" ( naggy like granny and mummy).

I picked up a tip from a book that suggests drawing a brick wall to describe a strained relationship between 2 persons. The child can then be asked to identify the bricks that made up the wall, ie. the factors that contribute to the friction. Using the same idea, I let my students use play dough to build the wall and describe each brick that adds to the height. It is quite compelling especially when the bricks pile so high that it completely separates the 2 little toy figures (who represent the strained parties) on each side of the wall. The child is then asked what action is needed to remove each "brick" if he wants to break down the wall.

This metaphor seems to stay in the mind of at least 2 students of mine. Weeks after the "brick wall" session, one student surprised me with the comment, "the wall has cracked but some bricks still remain". Another student told me he has difficulty removing a certain brick.

Recognising the power of metaphors, there is this Australian guy who developed a set of cards using the analogy of parts of a car to represent aspects of our life. So for instance the engine represents our basic needs, the steering wheel steers the direction, the 2 front wheels represent the thinking and the actions which impact the back wheels which are the feelings and the body sensations, etc, etc. Some students especially boys who are interested in cars warm up to these analogies.

Likewise stories are powerful tools to share values too. In my story telling sessions at the Library, some children come and go. I have however been approached a couple of times by children who come to me and say. "I remember you, you told the story about da da da....." Sometimes due to my poor memory I failed to recollect but would just ride along. For myself, I can still remeber some Chinese stories/legends with moral teachings. Unfortunately some Moral Education classes in school have been hijacked to give more time for CORE subjects.