Many different kinds of narratives are told about particular schools, and surely your school is no exception.
	[PHOTO BY RACHELLE H. SALTZMAN] Newell-Fonda girls play the Treynor girls’ basketball team at the 1996 State Girls’ Basketball Tournament in Des Moines.

These can include stories about the history and characteristics of the school itself: when and how it was built, why it has a certain architectural design, or how many star athletes have graduated from the school. Other narratives may tell about people associated with the school, historically or in the present, such as the most notorious principal, the ghost of a janitor that roams the halls at night, or the most beloved coach.

Another type of story may be important events that took place at the school: the play-off lost or won, the time a famous person visited, or that fire that broke out in the kitchen. Finally, and perhaps most important to students, are narratives the students tell about themselves and/or each other: the time everyone flunked the big exam, the time everyone fooled the substitute teacher into letting them out of class early, the time the school did a really good thing for the community.

Before you begin this lesson, make a list of some of the school narratives you know. If you can’t think of many, ask other teachers, former students, other school personnel, or consult any histories of the school that have been written.

Folklife Background

Schools are ideal places to study community. Think of all the ways students express themselves through stories and jokes, by their dress, with good luck charms, greetings, nicknames. Also, think of the school as a larger community comprised not only of students but of teachers, coaches, janitors, cafeteria workers, administrators, and volunteers.