Silencing the lambs

I was not too crazy about the title of Hankins' article with the allusion to a movie with a horrible theme, and the suggestion that children are meek little lambs. I think if you ask any child how they would wish to be portrayed they would choose a more fierce animal rather than a meek lamb. However, Hankins message is very powerful: we must listen to the stories children tell and we must honour the ways in which they tell their stories, and in turn, honour the ways in which their culture tells stories. How does this relate to our story writing lessons that insist on a beginning, middle and end? We have all seen the graphic organizers of plot profiles resembling an upward climb toward the story climax, culminating with an ending which wraps everything up neatly. Does Hankins challenge you to change how you teach writing stories, or to accept different story structures that your students may use?