Time:
Nov 3, 2017
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET

Presented by:
John McCormick
Col ‘80, Law ‘83

Register for webinar here »

Everyone enjoys hearing a good story! As young children, we clamored for just one more story before bedtime. As adults, we surf the web for engaging talks by professional storytellers featured on YouTube, TED Talks, NPR, and the Moth Radio Hour.

But did you know that the same ingredients that made up a good story for your children can also enhance your professional and personal life? In this engaging and information-packed session, John McCormick (Col ‘80 and Law ‘83), a children’s book author and contributor to the Huffington Post, will give you practical advice on how to use storytelling to boost your career and enrich your personal and family life. You’ll learn the basics of storytelling and how to apply them in any situation that life presents, whether in your chosen profession or simply while swapping stories around the office water cooler.

Storytelling expert John McCormick chatted to us about how storytelling can aid literacy and development. Read his own experiences as a ‘story dad’ alongside some handy tips and tricks.

 
Read the full article here »

Like many parents, I enjoyed reading a bedtime story each night to my two sons when they were young. When the story was over, we would turn out the lights, and I would sit next to them until they were asleep. Sometimes we’d talk. Other times my sons would be so tired they were sound asleep before I could turn out the light.

Then one night after the lights were out, my older son, Will, who was about three years old at the time, asked for one more story. But this time, he asked me to tell him a “story with my mouth.” That meant he wanted me to tell him one of my made-up stories, not someone else’s story from a book. And so I did. I just made up a story about the first thing that came to mind. He loved it. So much so that he asked me the next night, “Dad, please tell me another story with your mouth.”

Thus a storytelling tradition was born in our family. Every night since, well into their teenage years, I’ve made up an original story for my sons. Of all the things I do for them, my storytelling is what they love the most. They find their day isn’t complete without one of my stories.

And it’s what I love most, too. The time I’ve spent telling stories with my sons is one of the greatest treasures of my life. It has created a special bond between us, something that no one else does for them.

The time I’ve spent telling stories with my sons is one of the greatest treasures of my life. It has created a special bond between us, something that no one else does for them.

Storytelling is an easy way for parents to spend quality time with their children, and the benefits to both parents and kids are countless.

First, storytelling is documented as an effective pre-literacy activity, teaching kids to play with words and extend those words into sentences.

Second, storytelling boosts kids’ confidence in their language skills and communications. Storytelling allows kids to be active, encouraging them to conjure up their own mental images and, in the process, stimulates creativity and imagination.

Third, storytelling is a tailor-made activity for parents, especially those who have limited family time because of work obligations or long commutes. Storytelling only takes ten minutes a day, and kids always look forward to that special time before bedtime with mom or dad.

If you’re interested in giving storytelling a try with your kids, here are several helpful hints:

Make sure your storytelling is interactive.
That means, make up stories with – rather than just for – your children. A story means so much more to them when they can contribute to it and feel like a part of it. Besides, on nights when you can’t think of a story idea, you’ll need their help to come up with one.

A great way to start your story is by simply asking your children, “What do you want your story to be about?” From the very first question, you’ve gotten them involved in the story.

You can’t tell a bad story.
It doesn’t matter if your story isn’t a prize winner. What matters to kids is that they get to spend uninterrupted time with you creating fun, fantastical stories.

Still, the first time you ask your children what they want their story to be about, they may answer, “We don’t know.” Without missing a beat, tell them to go with the very first idea that comes into their heads. Don’t play it safe by waiting for a better idea to come along. When it comes to storytelling, there’s no need to dip a toe in the water. Dive right in.

With their help, build the story from there. Share ideas for setting the scene, developing characters, creating tension, or adding a challenge for the story’s hero or heroine. Then resolve the challenge in a way that’s humorous, enlightening, or teaches a lesson.

Make your storytelling a regular activity.
Storytelling can’t be a family tradition if you try it only once or twice and never come back to it. If you’re worried about keeping your children engaged, try the following ideas to spice up your storytelling ritual:

If you get stuck halfway through a story and have no idea how to end it on a high note, stall for time by asking your children, “Guess what happened next?” They’ll give you a promising idea, or at the very least give you time to think of a new direction.

As you gain confidence developing story plots and twists, try playing storytelling games. With a group of kids, have each child make up a character or event and take turns combining them into different stories.

Take an actual event that happened that day in your child’s life, and turn it into a make-believe story. Not only is that a sure-fire way to get your child talking, but it will give you invaluable insights into what’s on your son’s or daughter’s mind.

Come back to a story on successive nights and change or refine it. Explore how the characters learn from their mistakes and what they might do differently next time. Through the process of repetition and alteration, kids will learn how to adapt and improve.

Preserve your stories.
After you’ve created a story, encourage your children to illustrate it. The process of translating a mental image onto paper will build confidence and stretch creative limits.

Better yet, help your kids write down your stories. It’s fun reading them over again with your children. In my home, my sons and I took our storytelling to the next level – we wrote and illustrated our own book containing the stories we created together. Now, my sons often say they have the confidence to write their own books when they grow older.

Storytelling requires a commitment by parents, but I urge you not to think of it as a chore or obligation. Think of it as an investment in your child’s development, well-being, and happiness.

Before long, you and your kids will have created your own family tradition of made-up, just for fun storytelling.

Now that I’m the parent of two teenage boys, the realization that the first day of school is fast approaching doesn’t feel so wonderful to me. Maybe family life was different twenty years ago, but parenting in 2015 seems a much more fast-paced affair. One of the differences is no doubt the fact that I’m a parent, but it also feels as if kids–and as a consequence their parents–are leading more hectic, disjointed, and stressful lives than ever before. Let me give you a few examples.

My older son is starting his junior year in high school. The college search process begins for him in earnest, as does the pressure to get good grades, ace SAT tests, and distinguish himself from the legions of other qualified high school students trying to get into the same universities. On top of the academic pressure, he’ll have sports practice every evening after school, followed by a rushed dinner and hours of homework.

As for my younger son, he begins his first year of high school. His homework load will double, and grades will now really mean something. On top of the academic challenges, he’ll have to navigate the social world of high school and make new friends.

So what will all this mean for my wife and me?

Gone are the leisurely mornings of summer, replaced by the reveille rush of getting the kids up, fed, organized, and out the door in time for class. I already long for those July mornings when all I had to worry about was getting myself fed and dressed. Or sip my coffee and read the paper in a quiet kitchen while the boys sacked in ’til noon.

And relaxed evenings? Forget it. Instead of a family meal on the deck eating barbecue off the grill, I’ll be sneaking in a quick bite between picking kids up from soccer games, calling out practice test questions, or proofreading essays. When I’m not the family chauffeur or tutor, I’ll be the bad cop on the block, policing screen time so that the boys don’t waste their evenings sending pics on Instagram.

But individually, the hectic days are nothing compared to the overall stress. Nerves are frayed worrying about good grades, making the varsity team, whether the kids are too consumed with their social lives, or not serious enough about their studies. Not to mention having your son announce at eleven o’clock in the evening that the deadline for that big history assignment he’d forgotten about is tomorrow morning and he needs your help!

And did I mention my high school junior just got his learner’s permit? Maybe I shouldn’t complain too much about having to chauffer his friends and him around!

So how do I prepare myself mentally for the start of school, when the metabolism of our lives suddenly skyrockets with the ring of that first school bell? I offer myself the same advice I give to my kids when they’re stressed or can’t get to sleep.

First, take a deep breath . . . and remember, it’s only life. Or, as my wife has been telling me since our kids were born, it’s no longer about us.

Second, practice visualization exercises. I’ll imagine life after the kids have launched when I’m padding around the house feeling bored and purposeless. I’ll look back on my kids’ crazy-hazy high school days and miss the flux, the buzz, and the excitement of raising two teenage boys. (Okay, I know, I’m actually going to feel liberated and rested for once, but this is only a make-believe-exercise to help me get through the here-and-now.)

Finally, to complete my calming meditation, I’ll picture myself on a sunny beach, sitting in a lounge chair, slowly nodding off to the sounds of surf and seagulls. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll remind myself . . . the summer of 2016 is only six months away!

“Okay, Dad.” Will looked at me with the all-knowing smile of a three-year-old. Without missing a beat he added, “Now, will you play with me some more?”

His answer hit me like a Zen koan, a response intended to demonstrate the inadequacy of logical reasoning and to provoke enlightenment. Enlightened, I was. It occurred to me in that instant that no matter what I did in my career, no matter what contribution I could make to my profession, nothing would ever be as important as sitting on the floor playing games with my son for as long as he liked.

And that’s what I did. I put off my “work-work,” and stayed in the moment playing dinosaurs with Will. As my wife often tells me, when you’re a parent, it’s not about you. Ever since, I’ve tried to live my wife’s advice, putting more emphasis whenever possible on the family side of the work/family balance.

What followed were long afternoons sitting in the hot sun at baseball games I thought would never end, hours watching lacrosse practices on cold, damp March mornings, and even longer evenings helping with (and stressing over) homework. Weekends where I spent more time chauffeuring than relaxing became the norm. But I never minded. Spending precious moments with my sons meant so much more to me than missed golf outings, extra workouts at the gym, or lazing on the couch watching football games. And work rarely entered the equation, except when it had to. I learned that oft-quoted saw is really true–when you grow old, you’ll never remember those extra hours you spent at the office, but you will remember the extra time spent with your kids.

But this Father’s Day was a first for me. Will was away from home on a high school community service trip, and his younger brother Connor spent the week at a sports camp. Both called or texted me on Father’s Day, but it wasn’t the same as cooking dinner together around the barbecue, enjoying a movie afterwards, or even sitting on the floor like we used to, playing games. And I saw the writing on the wall.

I got a glimpse for the first time of what it will be like to be an empty nester. Connor starts high school this fall, and in two years Will is off to college. If Father’s Day 2015 is any predictor, I’ll be a complete mess, lavishing my pent-up paternal affections on the family dogs. Or maybe not. As usual, my wife’s calming influence and advice have centered me. Don’t forget, it’s not about you. In the past, to be a good father, I needed to be there for my boys no matter how busy or distracted I felt. Now that they’re older, things are shifting. To be a good dad today means giving them less of me, and giving my children more time to explore or find new adventures by themselves. But I’m confident our shared past has shown them I’ll always be here in case they need someone to talk to or guide them. Whether they’ll be home with me for Father’s Day 2016, or for the years after that, I take comfort in knowing that wherever they might be, I’ll always be their dad.

In an age of free range parenting, I’m the creaky old helicopter who hovers over my kids fretting about their safety and health. While this may sound old-fashioned, I prefer to think of it as just plain cautious. I understand the benefits of a skinned knee, as the title of a well-known parenting book proclaims, but I’ve also had more than my fair share of visits to the emergency room.

If I’m going to worry, at least I’ve got something significant to worry about. I’m a Lyme parent. My 16-year-old son Will contracted Lyme when he was 11 years old. Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that’s spread through tick bites. According to the CDC, typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and in fewer than 50 percent of reported cases, a skin rash that sometimes looks like a bull’s-eye. If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system.

My family had no warning. We’d never seen a tick or a bite mark on Will, let alone one of those characteristic bull’s-eye rashes. One morning Will rolled out of bed limping and complaining of painful, swollen knees. In the days that followed, he suffered from headaches and fever, disorientation and fatigue. Worse, he cried often and was in an emotionally fragile state.

Despite this unfortunate break, we discovered we were among the lucky ones. Though my son’s infection had probably lasted several months, our doctors caught the disease before it infected his nervous system. His doctors treated him with a lengthy course of antibiotics and restored him to health.

So why do I still worry? Because so much is still unknown about this disease. It’s unclear whether Lyme can be fully eradicated or simply lies dormant, waiting to be re-activated like a terrorist sleeper cell. My son went through a three-month period last year when he was constantly fatigued, suffered from chills and headaches, and had difficulty falling asleep and then waking up. All classic Lyme symptoms. Did he simply have a troublesome virus as our pediatrician told us, or had his Lyme reactivated?

I worried day and night that Lyme might still be stalking my child. The thought that my talented and bright son’s potential could be compromised by an insidious disease filled me with constant dread. Kids who suffer from Lyme are often too sick to enjoy memorable events such as homecoming dances, recitals, or championship games. Others are tethered to their beds, too exhausted to play outside or with friends. Robbed of their youthful energy, they often can’t lead the full lives they’re entitled to.

No wonder I worry. The medical community itself is deeply divided regarding the best approach for treating persistent Lyme disease. Persistent, or chronic, Lyme disease refers to the condition of those patients whose symptoms continue after a short-term dose of antibiotics. One group maintains there’s no convincing biological evidence for the existence of chronic Lyme infection, and that long-term antibiotic treatment of “chronic Lyme disease” is unproven and unwarranted. Opposing groups believe current Lyme testing is largely inaccurate and likely to miss patients with chronic and ongoing infection. This group feels that long term antibiotic treatment is needed for those patients with chronic symptoms.

At least if I’m going to worry, I’m not alone. Lyme patients and their families are caught in the middle of this controversy. Many parents confront a blizzard of conflicting literature on how to treat their children or where to go for help. Others are forced to travel endless hours or across states to find a doctor adequately trained to help them, or pay thousands of dollars for treatments that are rarely covered fully by insurance.

And the problem is growing. The CDC estimates there are 300,000 new cases of Lyme each year in the U.S. alone. This means many more kids are getting infected, and many more parents are worrying about how to make their children well.

Take the case of Janice Lynch Schuster. In a moving article published late last year in the Washington Post, (recommended to anyone wishing to learn more about Lyme disease and the controversy surrounding it), Schuster tells the story of her daughter who contracted Lyme disease when she was eight years old, but even after treatment, continue to suffer from blurred vision, joint pain, and fatigue for years. When her daughter again developed symptoms in college, the author’s plea for help resonated with me and every parent who has a child sick from Lyme:

I want help for my daughter; I want her on her feet and better. The uncertainty
in not being able to do this is frustrating, and I can imagine the challenges patients
face as they journey from doctor to doctor, looking for a cure.

Even though my son is feeling better once again, I can relate to Schuster’s plea. Although we consulted with Will’s Lyme doctor, who prescribed a number of immunity boosting supplements which seemed to help, every time I see him feeling fatigued or complaining of cold-like symptoms, my parent’s antenna go up.

What would make me worry less?

Like many other anguished parents, I don’t want to see more children suffer and lead compromised lives. I want to see medical professionals come together with an openness to new approaches, putting the needs of sick children first, and using the resources of the global medical community to find a cure for Lyme disease.

Until then, I’ll continue to write to raise awareness, and contribute to Lyme advocacy groups pushing for more federal funds to research this disease and find a cure for long-time sufferers. I’ll seek the support of my spouse and other parents who know what it’s like to have a child suffering from Lyme disease. And I’ll try not to worry so much.

To learn more about the detection, prevention, and treatment of Lyme and its associated diseases, consult your physician or local health department, or visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, the National Capital Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Association, the Lyme Action Network, and the Children’s Lyme Disease Network.