In May 2019, The World Mother Storytelling Project completed a semester-long pilot program at The Bronx High School of Science. The students met once per week for 90 minutes to learn how to elicit their mothers' stories, while listening without judgment, opinion, or preconception using the Narativ technique. They learned how to take the raw material gathered from their mothers, craft it into a story and present that story live in front of an audience. 

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THE OUTCOMES OF THE PILOT PROGRAM WERE EXTRAORDINARY

 

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Every student was equipped with a new strategy for how to craft and listen to a story. All participants spoke about how effective the Narativ method was, and noted that they would use it anytime they needed to tell a story. The students also noted how this process taught them empathy and compassion for their mothers, their families, and their peers. They also learned more about their relationships in general, including with themselves. 

 

Students, in the development and telling of their own mother’s story, gained a new understanding of their mothers as individuals, distinct from their role as parent.  This affected their confidence in expressing and revealing themselves as individuals.

With the help of Diane Davis Steiker, a teacher at The Bronx high School of Science, World Mother is working to develop a replicable curriculum that can go into other schools. Plans are already being discussed to bring the pilot curriculum to additional schools in NYC and West Norwood, London.