Modern morality plays help kids

Modernising a medieval tradition creates entertaining stories that teach good behaviour. By Mark Potterton

- Mark Potterton

I always tell the story of a leading academic who was asked whether he would rather teach a Grade 1 class or be a stand-up comedian. He chose to be a stand-up comedian because it was so much easier.

“In a comedy situation, you're talking to a group of inebriated people expecting to laugh and respond with laughter to anything you say. You are in a controlled environment ~asmoke-filled, noisy, darkened room.”

A classroom is more complex, he explained. “You have the curriculum to follow, the children are ... jumping around, one child is collecting stuff out of his locker, you have concerned parents breathing down your neck, and the principal is making his or her demands.”

Grade 1 classrooms are complex places, and you are frequently forced to veer from your main teaching and learning trajectory.

When Grade 1 teachers asked me to do a reading period with their children, I thought it would be a great way to put my skills to the test. They were having behavioural issues, and I wondered how I could address some of the challenges through storytelling.

Stories have been used in moral education for centuries, often bridging ancient traditions with modern narratives. Early morality plays in medieval times, like Everyman, used allegorical characters to dramatise the struggle between truth and vice, guiding ethical living.

These plays often personified abstract ideals like mercy, deception or greed, allowing audiences to see the consequences of moral choices. Today, stories continue to play this role, using nuanced characters and plots to teach values. This can be seen in the children’s book Miss Nelson Is Missing! by Harry Allard and James Marshall, which I used with Grade 1 children.

Miss Nelson and modern moral tales

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