SLP Diaries - Final Report
Today, I was in for a bunch of surprises. The department had organized a kind of gathering for the Magic of Storytelling, SLP members, especially those graduating. The previous day, I was told that there was a time allotted for me in the agenda to speak. The girl who told me said that I could talk about the history of the SLP and about my experiences, and vision for it.
That meant that I had had time to prepare, and I had a huge list of things I wanted to say. Before that, however, I got to listen to all the things that my classmates and other teammates had to say about the SLP. It moved me to tears - almost - to hear how they felt about this program that I poured my heart and soul into, and to see that it really affected them in a positive way, which is all I could ever ask for. It also felt extra special when each of them mentioned how I pulled them into this mesmerizing thing, whether they reallyyy wanted to or not. It is amazing that each of them showed up, and I loved to hear from them.
(Ik... I'm repeating the same thing over and over again, but it was just so touching.)
A special highlight for me was receiving a memento for founding and initiating this program. It's proof that what I did and envisioned would last.
Now guys... I just have to post my speech here, because I could describe what I said, but it would be equally as long, and my speech would be a bit more elegant here. Here it comes.
(This is the overall message... of course, my speech would have had some natural changes)
"Okay guys. So... this isn't going to be a report or a vote of thanks or anything. This, guys, is going to be a story. So sit tight. Cuddle close and here it goes.
Once upon a time, there was a girl who loved to read. Like, it started with her mom reading to her. Then, as she grew up, she read for herself. She found that reading opened up so many new magical worlds to her. Reading, to her, was an escape. Now, that doesn't mean she was escapist, but she felt free when she read. She would set aside time every day to read, and in that time, she wouldn't do anything else. It was just time for her and her freedom.
Now, this girl soon realized that not everyone was like that. She learned that a lot of people didn't really like reading. They thought it was a chore. They called it nerdy. This led to lots of teasing and stuff like that, but she didn't let it get to her. In her heart of hearts, she knew that this was something very important to her and she did not let it go.
She decided that she wanted to pass this on to the next generation. Kids she saw were attached to technology, but she wanted them to understand that joy could be gained through reading as well. It wasn't just about joy - it was about general knowledge, about vocabulary, about confidence, and speaking skills.
From that, the idea for Magic of Storytelling was born. When I first thought of this, it was like a 'storytime' that I grew up with, back in the US. It was stories and rhymes and crafts, all meant to foster learning and creative skills. I didn't know that it had to have a syllabus, learning outcomes, and objectives and things like that. I thought it could just be a fun volunteering thing, that would be engaging for the student volunteers, and enriching for the kids.
But... unfortunately, it did need a syllabus and clear goals, which I made and presented to the principal. With his go-ahead, I took this to the department. FD sir agreed at once, and said that SP sir would be the staff coordinator. Now... SP sir was still kinda a new staff and I couldn't get a read on him. So I was a bit hesitant, but I accepted, and so it began.
The program was officially inaugurated on the 17th of December, 2024, during the department's Christmas celebration. FD sir released the logo of the program. We had our first session on the 24th of January 2025, after a workshop with Wesley sir on the 6th of January 2025. The even semester of the year 2024-25 was called "The Trial Semester."
The team was pretty small, because we wanted to iron out the kinks in the program, before opening it up widely.
So, here's how it was planned. We had four units - oral storytelling, traditional storytelling, puppet theatre, and skits and plays. The sessions would be split in half - one for the story and vocabulary lessons, and one for activities - like drawing. We were supposed to do two weeks per unit and then have a grand finale where the children could show off what they learnt. However... we didn't really follow the schedule. We quickly learned that the kids were completely new to this. So, as you guys know, RSL is a Tamil medium school. When we went, the concept of being taught through stories was completely new. It took us a while to get into the rhythm of what they needed, rather than bulldozing on with what we planned at first.
In the end, we didn't finish our four units during the trial semester, but we did have a grand finale. It was kind of a cosplay. We gave the kids a character each - or an animal - that they would talk 'as' in English. The students of grade 4 and 5 found this easier than the younger children, but each child brought something beautiful to the table. Honestly, thinking about it brings tears to my eyes.
It was such a joy to see the kids showing off what they had learnt. Some of them needed an extra push and some prompting, but they did speak up. I am so proud of each and every one of them.
Now... moving on to all the thanks I have to give. Firstly to the principal for listening to my pitch, to Rufus sir for helping me with my proposal, to FD sir for agreeing to let me try this completely new thing out, to SP sir for bearing with all the problems during the trial sem, and to Merin mam for her seamless takeover. Then to Dr. Belinda, director of extension activities, and to RSL school and its teachers for being so welcoming and letting us 'experiment' with them.
Then... to my very first team. So... I came to each and every one of you personally asking you to join SLP, and you guys said yes, whether it was because you really wanted to, or if you had some ulterior motive, thank you for working with me.
First, to my classmates, Veena, Libi, Gracelin, and Lakshmi - you guys were the first to say yes to this. Even though you couldn't be there throughout, you guys said yes and were so eager to be a part of this. Then to Andrea, for keeping up with this through her campaigning. Then to Amy akka and Vasupradha akka... MA students don't get any credits for this, but you still were there and that means a lot to me. Then to Niranjan, I wasn't even sure you would want to be part of this, but you did, and you really shone there.
To my juniors... Aishwarya and Maria, you guys may not be friends anymore, but I remember your energy back when we started. You were like unstoppable forces of nature. To Titus and Jacob, for being with me in the very very beginning, coming with me to see Caroline mam and Belinda mam, and Jacob especially for taking notes and stuff during the meetings, to remind me of what I wanted to do. To Danny for putting up with me even though I didn't always assign you to the class you wanted to be in, I hope you know now that I only had good things for you. To Iniyan for your quiet but reliable presence, I hope this brought you some good. To Sania for your knowledge of Hindi, which was my saving grace. To Jijo for being willing to take over in my absence. And finally, to my Kavin and Megha for being available at the drop of a hat, with all their play responsibilities, they took the time to come. And to Anu, who pretends to be this silent guy who doesn't care about anything, but shows up when it matters.
My core team from last year... Andrea, Amy akka, Niranjan, Aishwarya, Maria, Titus, Jacob, Danny, Iniyan, Sania, and Jijo... I will always love each of you for accepting to come with me on this adventure.
And to those of you who joined this year... I hope you guys had a blast here. And I hope you always remember that this isn't for us, but for the kids who deserve every opportunity to shine. Please remember... our motto here is to inculcate a joy and love for reading in children, without forcing them to read. They should want to read and know that it is good for them."
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