As you may know, I have gathered a wide selection of multi-cultural material, songs, dances and games from around the world, for my World Music and Rhythm Talk program. I came across the legend of the talking stick and found that it worked marvelously in my class as children tend to talk all at once. They get louder and louder in order to be heard over the next guy, not realizing that the louder they all talk the less the teacher can hear them. They seem to feel that if they yell loud enough, someone is bound to hear what they are saying. I believe that this is a natural phenomenon and we have all been guilty of it since our cultural beginnings. This is why the Native American people have come up with the idea of the talking stick, a powerful tool used by many tribes of different nations for years. When the person holding the stick is talking, no one else is allowed to talk.  Moreover, the speaker could speak freely and without consequence as no one could repeat what was spoken outside the circle.

I like to teach kids respect for another’s culture at this early age as I think it is critical to a happy, healthy society, free from the predeterminations and prejudices which still haunt our planet.

Maria