Estimated reading time: 5 minutes. Contains 994 words.
Target Audiences: Early Childhood Educators
The Context
As we begin a new school year, I have been reflecting on my teaching practice, not just the teaching of writing, but also the teaching of young children in general. I tend to reread the books of educators who operate from the stance of having more questions than answers. I also gravitate toward writing that helps me understand the “why” behind the complex developmental process that children undergo as they learn to read and write, grounding me in a deeper awareness of and sensitivity to the myriad ways this may feel and look in an early childhood classroom.
Of Note
Much of Vivian Gussin Paley’s work is the inspiration for my approach to exploring language and literacy with young children. In Wally’s Stories, she weaves together dozens of conversations from her kindergarten classroom, demonstrating her passion for nurturing story dictation and “storyacting,” as well as her commitment to supporting her students’ developing sense of logic and their understanding of how the world works in all of its wonder and complexity.
By recording children’s exact language and conversations, she reminds us to adopt an inquiry mindset. She demonstrates how she asks questions to engage her young students without steering them in a particular direction. She was truly masterful at this, and for me, it serves as a good reminder of my role as a teacher in the classroom: not to seek control over the narrative, but rather to listen in closely to what unfolds between the children.
Many of the exchanges between Paley and her students offer poignant moments for me. I would like to share a small sampling with you here:
From the Prologue (pg. 4):
“Wally: People don’t feel the same as grown-ups.
Paley: Do you mean “Children don’t”?
Wally: Because grown-ups don’t remember when they were little. They’re already an old person. Only if you have a picture of you doing that. Then you could remember.
Eddie: But not thinking.
Wally: You can never take a picture of thinking. Of course not.”
From Stories (pg. 11):
“Paley: Why do girls choose story dictating more than boys?
Sam: Boys like to do Star Wars things– stuff like that. Girls like writing and listening to the teacher.
Robbie: Boys like blocks and woodwork and superheroes.
Tom: And guns and cars and tough things.
Sandy: I was making a motorcycle. That’s why I didn’t come.
Della: They think it’s dull, sitting and coloring and telling things. Boys are rougher.
Paley: But boys like to listen to stories and act them out. Then why not dictate stories?
Robbie: It’s very hard to explain. I’m storing up energy because I have a cold. So I don’t want to use up my energy writing stories.”
From Fairies (pg. 41):
“Wally: The tooth fairy came in my room and woke me up.
Paley: What did she look like?
Wally: She was pretty and had long hair.
Paley: Was she old?
Wally: Not as old as a grand person. As old as you. She put an envelope with money under my pillow.
Paley: Tanya says the tooth fairy can’t get into her house. Her daddy locks all the doors and windows.
Warren: She flies through the glass.
Wally: No, she comes in through the roof.
Paley: Where does she get all the money?
Wally: From the bank.
Deanna: He’s right. I saw her at the bank. She had purple shoes and red hair.
Andy: Did she talk to you?
Deanna: She doesn’t speak English. I think she talks in Chinese.
Eddie: Does she, Warren?
Warren: Probably she does.”
And from Birthdays (pg. 116-117):
“Paley: Why are there so many different languages?
Lisa: Because some people don’t know these other languages.
Kim: They can’t talk the way we talk.
Eddie: Maybe when people are born they choose the language they want to know and then they go to a special place to learn it. I mean their mother chooses.
Andy: Like a child could tell his mother and father to take him to a place where they can learn French if they are French.
Warren: God gives people all the sounds. Then you can tell you’re in a different place because it sounds different.
Wally: When you’re little you try to think of what the name of something is and people tell you.
Eddie: Oh yeah. Your mother tells you. You come out of her stomach and she talks English to you and she tells you the name for everything.
Deanna: If you live in a different country, there’s a different language there. Wherever you were born you talk in that language.
Warren: Wherever your mother was born.
Paley: Your mother was born in China, Warren, but you speak English.
Deanna: Because he never lived in China.
Warren: I’m going to go to Chinese school on Saturdays when I’m six.
Eddie: Someone has to teach you. My brother didn’t know one word when he was born. Not even my name.
Earl: When I was little I said, “ca-see.”
Rose: What does that mean?
Earl: “Take me to the car.” Now I know every word.
Rose: Me too.
Paley: Akemi was born in Japan and she speaks Japanese. How are you learning all these English words now, Akemi?
Akemi: I listen to everybody.”
One Final Thing
Re-reading Paley’s “Wally’s Stories” reminds me to take note of the language young children use to make sense of the world and communicate their ideas to others. It helps me refocus my priorities on truly listening to them without my adult agenda getting in the way. And, it encourages me to take dictation more often, act out their stories with them, and honor the important writing work they are doing just by having conversations with me and each other. If you’ve never read Wally’s Stories, I hope you will now.
Works Cited
Paley, Vivian Gussin. Wally’s Stories. Harvard University Press, 1981.
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I’m so glad to hear Paley’s work discussed! Her books were so important- and moving- to me, years ago. She describes autistic children before we had that diagnosis, and how she and her students treated the child under the desk with compassion and understanding. I often think of her emphasis on story telling and acting out stories, and what does that element of acting out do for young children. I also often think of her critique of American culture, giving us too many choices to decide between, for things that are not that important. Yet somehow I missed Wally’s stories! Thank you for reminding us of the wisdom of deep conversation with young children.
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It is so nice to see this post. Vivian Gussin Paley’s books were some of the first books I read as a student teacher. She reminds us over and over again that good teaching emerges from careful listening. Sure, there is tons more to good teaching but it starts there. I feel lucky that my cooperating teacher insisted that I read her books first. Everything else is built upon that careful listening and ongoing inquiry.
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Thank you for reading it! I love going back to Paley’s work over and over again.
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