So why is it so important to tell a positive story? I believe that positive, empowering stories can have huge educational value. This is also the basis on which Lyfta was founded. After many years of pondering about how the stories we choose to tell can make a real impact, we always came back to the same answer: Education. Stories are a powerful tool for learning.
Teachers also see the value in using stories for learning. Before we founded Lyfta, around two years ago, my colleagues and I visited one primary school in Ipswich, UK, where a teacher, after a Lyfta session in her classroom, said: 'We need to make it real to them (pupils), we need to make it meaningful. I know this experience will stay with them, because they were just buzzing about it, and that's what we need in every lesson'. The kids she was talking about were between 7 and 10 years old. When asked questions about the content that they had just seen, the class answered every single question correctly and extremely eloquently. It was a memorable moment. I peered over my shoulder to see Michelle, the teacher, with tears in her eyes. She was visibly moved by her pupils' engagement. Michelle tells us that her kids are still talking about it to this day.
These and many other experiences in schools in the UK and Finland over the last two years have affirmed my belief that there can be a better world, and that we, the adults, have a responsibility to support the next generation to grasp their role in building a fairer, more sustainable world.
