A story is a whole experience. It h

A story is a whole experience. It has a beginning and an ending. Although we often forget theories and ideas, we tend to remember stories because they connect with something inside us: emotions, our own experiences, our own dreams. When we hear a good story it becomes woven into our own library of stories, altering not only the shape of the other's story in the journey, but that of our stories as well. The second-language learner comes into our classrooms with stories. In many classrooms, these stories seldom if ever have a chance to be told. I believe that the wise teacher understands the need for her students to tell some of the significant stories of their lives, and in doing so to claim once again the dignity of being human and unique as we walk on the land and make our imprint on it. I do not see this as a teaching technique because to do so is to trivialize the relationship we have with our stories. Storytelling is more a natural sharing that comes out of the relation- ship we cultivate with learners and among learners. When the individuals in a classroom feel safe to be who they are, with all their fears, doubts, and questions, as well as their achievements, failures, and dreams, then and only then can they move from the stories of their past to understanding and taking control of their present and their future. And in this new land theirfuture is also our future. We too are participants in the ongoing drama of creating a multicultural society and a peaceful, healthy planet for us all. As an educator I can choose to be a weaver of stories, past, present, and future, with those learners who have entrusted themselves to my classroom.