PRESS RELEASE: Speaking out in Defense of Scary Stories on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf Show

Saturday, October 25, 2008
For Immediate Release
Contact: Eric James Wolf
Phone: (937) 767-869

Speaking out in Defense of Scary Stories on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf Show

Eric James Wolf, professional storyteller and host of the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf Show, is available for print, radio and television interviews to defend the use of the scary Halloween stories in the oral tradition with children.

Scary Halloween stories and ghost stories for children have taken the place of ritual trials of adulthood for teenagers, according to Mr. Wolf. They also serve as a means for adults to warn children away from dangerous places or behavior. Ghost stories and scary Halloween stories in the oral tradition can be age appropriate and satisfying for families. Currently on his the Art of Storytelling shows website he has five interviews available for easy download about the art of telling scary Halloween stories.

Eric Wolf does not condone or support horror or the graphic use of violence. “It is possible, however, by carefully working within the confines of scary Halloween stories and ghost stories for children, to leave our audience psychologically stronger and more emotionally capable of dealing with their fears or the shock of real world disasters,” Mr. Wolf says.

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Storyteller Eric James Wolf has performed nationally at such venues as the American Museum of Natural History; Bank Street School for Children; Barnard College; Blue Theater - Toronto, Canada; Columbia University; The Fund for the City of New York; Kings Island Amusement Park; New York City Clearwater Festival; New Jersey Liberty Science Center; and The International Performing Artists for Youth.

He is the host and producer of the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf, a one hour interview format show. Mr. Wolf has M.S. in Education from Lesley University.

Eric Wolf’s Website
http://www.ericwolf.org

The Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf Show
http://www.artofstorytellingshow.com/

A list of five episodes on the Art of Storytelling with Children with storytellers speaking on how to use scary storytelling with kids.
http://www.artofstorytellingshow.com/category/scary-storytelling/


To schedule an interview, call…
(937) 767-8696

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4) Humans are capable of learning on a J curve.

This post is part of series on 7 Principles every parent should know about dyslexic children.

The spark of desire is the one true gift a good teacher can give a student. Everything else is just a matter of access and time. Once exposed to the desire to learn something in the modern age where the internet has made any information that you may need immediately accessible. The only thing missing is your child’s desire to know.

Schools were built during an age when it was necessary to create a uniform cultural identity through compulsory schooling. While nationalist may still argue that for the good of the state individuals should be normalized across a wide spectrum of types and religions – I would argue that in a creative economy that normalization will kill the engine that fuels the governments economic success. Government schooling is killing the drive and the ability of the economy to supply the needs of the state.

One of the few good arguments that I have heard for running government schools that makes sense to me is that for many children Public School is the one time a day that they get a good meal. I think that's great - let's build a cafeteria in the pubic library and any hungry person can get a modest meal government paid. Or let's run high school and middle school the way many private colleges are run - you take the classes you want to take from the teacher you wish to learn from.

When your child feels competent and emotionally safe they will learn when they are ready. In human development there are windows of opportunity that open up as the child develops – now is a good time for music, now is a good time for stories, now is a good time for character development Each of these windows open and close with a the development of the human being. I'm not saying you can't teach a old dog new tricks, but... it sure is hard.

I have spoken with teachers who teach college level algebra to 5th graders - but the response they get form administration is - What are we going to teach them in 9th grade algebra?

I’m ranting I know - but I am ranting against an ideology of schooling that says that the smartest - and every student is smartest in one subject - whether or not it is apart of the schools official curriculum - example - boys, cars, or comic books. - the smartest students must wait for everyone else - or must conform to culture that says fit in.. oh the exasperation!

7 reasons to Join the Art of Storytelling with Children NING!

In reverse order like a letterman top ten list... http://storytellingwithchildren.ning.com

Drum roll please....

7) You love Eric's podcast and want to make him feel accomplished for the hundreds of hours of work he has invested into the Art of Storytelling with Children Podcast.
6) You never heard of Eric or his podcast and feel sorry for him spending hundreds of hours on his podcast.
5) You love children (not in a weird way) and love to write and share about storytelling with children..
4) You want one more website with a decent google page rank to list your storyteller website and increase your visability on google.
3) You love to tell stories to children on the amateur level and want to belong to a storytelling networking community - and the professional storyteller NING is a little intimidating.
2) You recently had bad accident and are trapped in a full body cast unable to escape from your hospital bed except through the internet.
1) Your a social networking addict

Seriously though consider joining now because you love telling stories with children...
http://storytellingwithchildren.ning.com

Incase you missed it Eric Wolf's Website
and Eric wolf's Storytelling Podcast

3) All populations are not uniform.

This post is part of series on 7 Principles every parent should know about dyslexic children.

I have outside of my door – in the hall a cartoon that I treasure. It shows a field with a tall tree to the left. There is a man in a suit n’ tie and he is sitting on the right looking at a line of creatures. A monkey, an elephant, a bird, a penguin, a seal, a dog and a fish in a bowl are sitting in a line on the left of the picture in front of the man. The man is smiling as he says – “For a fair exam everybody has to take the same tests – The first test will be to climb that tree.”

In all animal and human populations individuals are not uniform. They react individually to environmental stress and individuals grow at different rates due to genetic and environmental factors. If your child is one of the 10% of humans who learn to read at the age of ten when all of their peers learn a the age of 8 they may feel some pressure to confirm to what is considered “normal”. As parents every where know – normal can be set or changed very quickly by the environment we are in and by the friends we keep.

By allowing for your child’s individual response to pressure you are giving them permission to learn at there own pace. To state the obvious who cares if they can’t read yet – if they want to learn to read they will to the best of their ability. When you look at the next principal you will see why this is not as dangerous or risky as it appears to many parents and educational experts.

Your child is an individual so why are you placing him within systems that require he or she be one a face in the crowd. The schooling system of education was based on four widely divergent models combining together to create the American School system as we know it today. First the monks in the monasteries with in the idea of diligent and repetition to learn a task defined the highest of educational standards - for the 14th centaury anyway. Secondly the American government under the pressure of hundred of thousands of immigrants needed a way to quickly create a cultural common experience in a country that was filled with people who wanted to make it on there own. Third the American Factory system of the 19th century industrial age required workers who could fit into the mold and follow instructions. In the beginning and of this century the progressive social movement and the conservative social movement sought to support the development of American moral values by controlling the content of what is taught in schools today and for the last hundred years.

If you are unsatisfied as I am with my philosophical examination of modern schooling. There are Encyclopedias written on the history of the American Educational system – if you are new to those tomes – let me suggest for you a very quick and insightful read by John Gatto - Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling.

Just so you know - I keynote on this topic the philosophical and historical realities of the school system with a M.S. in Education.