Several years ago, I stood in a fourth-grade classroom in Hollywood, California in front of 30 boys and girls and posed a question. "How many Cinderella stories are there?" Blank stares and quizzical looks covered the children's faces as they squirmed about in their seats anxiously searching for the correct answer. Everyone seemed to assume that off course there could only be ONE Cinderella story which some of the children proceeded to tell me. It involved Cinderella suffering at the hands of her evil stepmother and her two wicked stepsisters until the fairy godmother appeared one day and with the wave of her magic wand prepared Cinderella for the ball where she would meet the handsome and eventually live happily ever after. I enjoyed the children's retelling of the tale as it also mirrored the version that I was exposed to as a young girl living in my native Liberia, West Africa.
Yet, I surprised the children that day when I shared with them that scholars support that there are more than 300 versions of the Cinderella tale the world over. On that day, the children and I embarked on a fantastic journey of exploring several of the multicultural variants of the classic Cinderella story. We read versions from China, Mexico, Africa, and Native American traditions to name a few. Beyond this school, I would go on to share versions of the story with other children in grades one, three and five.
In every scenario, I watched and listened with joy as the children soon took possession of the Cinderella stories. Children would go on to write and illustrate their own wonderful versions of the story. One of my most memorable experiences with Cinderella in the classroom involved a little boy in the third grade. He shared a wealth about his culture and background after the class had experienced a Cinderella story from the Filipino tradition. This young student exuded so much pride and shared experiences with his teacher and classmates in manner that had not been richly encountered in their classroom before.
The universality of the Cinderella story seemingly bridged cultural gaps and opened up the doors for wonderful discussions. My experiences sharing these stories with children throughout the years helped lodge my desire to become a teacher. The stories shed light on the commonality of the human experience and give voice and relevance to cultures across the globe. They give children (such as the child I once was) greater opportunity to participate in literary expression in the classroom as these stories promote inclusiveness and bolster cultural identity in our very pluralistic society. Beyond affirming children from varying cultural backgrounds, these stories are instructive in their teaching the importance of human character. They teach children both the rewards of noble character and the pitfalls that often accompany bad character and deeds. These lessons are seemingly universal and time-tested.
Yet, I surprised the children that day when I shared with them that scholars support that there are more than 300 versions of the Cinderella tale the world over. On that day, the children and I embarked on a fantastic journey of exploring several of the multicultural variants of the classic Cinderella story. We read versions from China, Mexico, Africa, and Native American traditions to name a few. Beyond this school, I would go on to share versions of the story with other children in grades one, three and five.
In every scenario, I watched and listened with joy as the children soon took possession of the Cinderella stories. Children would go on to write and illustrate their own wonderful versions of the story. One of my most memorable experiences with Cinderella in the classroom involved a little boy in the third grade. He shared a wealth about his culture and background after the class had experienced a Cinderella story from the Filipino tradition. This young student exuded so much pride and shared experiences with his teacher and classmates in manner that had not been richly encountered in their classroom before.
The universality of the Cinderella story seemingly bridged cultural gaps and opened up the doors for wonderful discussions. My experiences sharing these stories with children throughout the years helped lodge my desire to become a teacher. The stories shed light on the commonality of the human experience and give voice and relevance to cultures across the globe. They give children (such as the child I once was) greater opportunity to participate in literary expression in the classroom as these stories promote inclusiveness and bolster cultural identity in our very pluralistic society. Beyond affirming children from varying cultural backgrounds, these stories are instructive in their teaching the importance of human character. They teach children both the rewards of noble character and the pitfalls that often accompany bad character and deeds. These lessons are seemingly universal and time-tested.
