Resolving Conflicts: Cultivating Young Minds through Storytelling

Developing societies have been surviving on the tradition of storytelling in the family. Over the centuries, storytelling has served the ancient and diverse cultures. It has predominantly been an oral form, including gestures and expressions. Its indications have been found in the painted symbols from stories on the cave walls, which provided a means of helping the storyteller remember the story. The story was then told using a combination of oral narrative, music, rock art and dance. Conventionally, generations after generations have made use of this method to teach their young-ones’ about their culture, religion and traditions, by listening to stories from their parents. The first lessons of the child to understand the world and each other have been through storytelling. Children in their formative years even today are looking for guidance, as they develop their self- concept, identity, social skills and responsibility. With the breaking of the joint family system in India, children are devoid of the oral narratives, which was the forte of the grandparents. Therefore, the job of the teacher becomes more demanding. The young-ones’ should be taught survival skills and adapting themselves to the environment around them. To meet these objectives, diverse learning styles can be adopted in the classroom settings. This paper would precisely deal with the pedagogical aspect of storytelling for resolving conflicting situations.