Are you a parent who wants to communicate important life and character lessons to the hearts of your children?
Are you a teacher looking for the secret to getting your teaching from your children’s short-term memory into their long-term memory?
Do you want to reach the hearts of those you are teaching?
Most information that any of us are exposed to is received by the cerebral cortex of our brain and is placed in short-term memory, where is remains for a short period of time and then it is gone. If we repeat the information enough times or if we associate the information with something else we can get it into the hippocampus of the brain where it is finally stored as a long-term memory. In that state the information can be recalled for years. In fact there is scientific evidence that long-term memories stay with us for most of our lives.
What is the secret to getting your teaching from your children’s short-term memory into their long-term memory?
The hippocampus is part of the Limbic system of the brain which handles the long-term memories but the hippocampus is also directly connected to the Amygdala which functions as the emotional center of the brain.
Here is why this is important. Scientific research has shown that if an exciting or engaging story is used to teach, instead of the story going to the short-term memory in the cortex, the emotional connection with the story causes the amygdala to override the cortex and takes the story and any information associated with it and stores them in the hippocampus as long-term memories.
That means that if you use exciting and engaging stories to teach important lessons to your students the teaching is going straight into long-term memory and can be recalled for years.
In other words, when you use exciting and engaging stories to teach, you are teaching to your listener’s hearts! Now, it will still be up to them and the work of the Holy Spirit to motivate them to use your teaching, but it will be stored in their brains where they can call it up.
Stories change hearts.
This is such an exciting concept and has been verified in scientific papers[1] [2] [3]. Educators and researchers have been encouraging teachers to teach with stories for several years:
“…Our ‘thought flows in terms of stories—stories about events, stories about people, and stories about intentions and achievements. The best teachers are the best storytellers. We learn in the form of stories.'”
–“Teaching with Stories as the Content and Context for Learning”,
Frances Vitali, University of New Mexico, quoting Frank Smith, 1990“Stories go straight to the heart. As Irish poet and philosopher James Stephens wrote, ‘The head does not hear anything until the heart has listened. The heart knows today what the head will understand tomorrow.’”
–“The Power of Storytelling in the Classroom”,
by Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss, 2005“Scholars have found that stories have a strong influence on children’s understanding of cultural and gender roles. Stories do not just develop children’s literacy; they convey values, beliefs, attitudes and social norms which, in turn, shape children’s perceptions of reality.”
–“Why Stories Matter for Children’s Learning” by Peggy Albers,
Professor of language and literacy education at Georgia State University
The Tales of Larkin have been written to keep the readers and listeners engaged.
The Tales of Larkin are fun, exciting and emotionally gripping. They have also been written with a biblical world view and are full of hidden (and sometimes not so hidden) lessons on good character and important spiritual truths.
“While at first, Hawthorn’s Discovery was meant only to entertain us, it became a teaching tool as well. I began to see in the book spiritual lessons that Dad had been learning and wanted us to know. Rather than feeling lectured, we loved it.”
–Natalie Harris in the American Family Association Journal, September 2007
They are great books to read just for good wholesome fun, but their real value is when they are used to teach.
“The Tales of Larkin are rich with biblical truths. Every chapter captivated my kids with its breathtaking escapades and witty humor. The parallels between this tiny world and ours left them chattering long into the night. It is a gift to find a book that elevates my child’s understanding of spiritual things and illuminates another portion of our own Story.”
–Kristen Anne Glover, military wife and blogger at Five In Tow
I encourage parents and teachers to read The Tales of Larkin stories to your children and students and then, when you finish a chapter and the listeners are still engaged with the story, go over the discussion questions listed for each chapter in the book’s appendix. This gives the parent and the teacher the precious opportunity to make sure your lessons get into the hearts of your listeners.
“To keep the attention of my two boys, a story must be full of adventure, easy to understand, and move quickly. To meet my highest mark of approval, it must be packed with meaning, make them think, and point them to Christ. The Tales of Larkin do all of these things and more!”
–Brooke McGlothlin, Co-Founder and President of Raising Boys Ministries
and Author of Praying for Boys: Asking God for the Things They Need Most
Do you want to reach the hearts of those you are teaching?
You can send your teaching straight into your child’s long-term memory.
You can use the Master Teacher’s method to reach the hearts of those you are teaching.
When God’s Son Jesus wanted to reach hearts, He often used stories in the form of parables to do just that.
When you read The Tales of Larkin aloud, you are using thrilling adventure stories as tools for heart change.
In His Service,
Alan W. Harris
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