Comics in Education

When I first began teaching in 2000, I never would have thought of including comic books or graphic novels in the curriculum. I guess it has something to do with the way in which I was taught in my formative/college years. We were taught that the "classics" were to be taught such as William Shakespeare--not comics. A part of this philosophy sprouts from the notion that if something is fun, or entertaining, it can't be looked at as educational. I believe in the past couple years, I have seen more and more teachers exploring other non-traditional methods that I believe have benefited the students in today's schools. Although, movies, theatre, and film are more accepted in the classroom, many studies out there today suggest that video games, comic books, and popular culture can be added to our existing curriculum with positive results.

Just the other day, I was listening to NPR where they were discussing this notion that boys and girls learn and think differently. Girls do well in the traditional classroom setting and tend to excel at English and may struggle in Math. Boys, on the other hand, seem to excel in Math, and may struggle more with reading. Furthermore, they stated that boys are spatial learners and that if they are given the option to draw out their ideas before writing, they would do much better in comprehending and retaining the material. For students, not just boys, who struggle with reading, I think graphic novels and comics provide a great creative and educational outlet. I know for myself, I struggle with maps for instance. Now if I have someone drive me to my destination ahead of time, instead of just handing me a map, I have a greater chance of getting there. Even in learning a second language, the visual aide plays an important role. Many teachers and students rely on pictures with the language to aid in comprehension. I believe that the same concept is being displayed here.

While online, I came across a website titled Comics in Education, by Gene Yeng. He has been researching and studying comics from the 1930's until present day. Educators in the 1930's and 1940's lined up on both sides of the debate. Many, like Child Study Association of America director, Sidonie Gruenberg, felt that this was a great media to teach literacy where others felt it to be a stumbling block in the way of literacy. The same problem that we have seen with other forms of media trying to cross over into the educational world are evident in the comics evolution as well. Again, the question being is this educational?

My daughter is eight years old and was reading at the age of three. She has also become interested in the graphic novel genre, specifically the Bone books and Amelia the Super Hero books. I asked her what appeals to her about these books and she stated that she liked the illustrations and that they looked "cool." Now when I test her on her reading comprehension when she is reading these books versus "classic" literature, she is interpreting the same elements of literature with both. With that said, we as educators must ask ourselves, are comics bad for education or are we really fighting educational change?

War--What is it good for?

War--what is it good for? This idea has been around since the beginning of time and I am sure has been queried by leaders, presidents, politicians, soldiers, teachers, physicians, students, and all people. This question has always remained a constant. Our views on what we perceive to be the right answer have also been hotly debated since the beginning of time as well.

I think in a lot of ways living during wartime can be difficult even if you do not have relatives over fighting the war directly. It seems that in the 70's with the Vietnam War, war movies were not produced until after the war was over. You look at the wars we fight today and it seems to be everywhere.

I remember when we first went in and started invading Iraq and how much news coverage was out there. You could turn on the television at any given time and see a light display of bombs and coverage no matter what time it was. I remember when I finally realized what kind of a toll that kind of media coverage can have on a person when I noticed that my husband could only watch the war coverage and how all consuming it had become. I remember that he had trouble sleeping as well. When I see that a grown man has trouble processing this information, it really makes me wonder how our children are affected? Although I believe that it is a step in the right direction to keep the public aware of what is going on, we really need to pay attention to how the media is being slanted. What is "real" news and what is "shock and awe? What coverage is "real issues" or misguided fluff.

We are bombarded with these visuals. So are our children. War coverage is on the news, debated within political campaigns, and is evident on reality television shows, video games, and movies. You can also go on the internet and find many sites where people are discussing their views and their beliefs on the subject. It seems that it is hard in times of war to escape the reality of what is going on and/or what media you can believe. We are consumed with media that tells us to believe in one way and that what they are saying is the truth, but whose truth is it? In some ways I think the fact that people are talking about it at all is a good thing. Good thing if you have been taught the tools to analyze what is being thrown at you with a critical eye.

That is why I think that discussing these issues in the classroom is so important. With so many mediums to choose from, in music, blogs, movies, and news coverage, it is almost wrong to not tap into these resources. Teaching students to look at advertising, war propaganda, war issues through a critical lens will give them the tools they need to separate the "fake" issues from the "real issues" and in the process hopefully create well-educated and informed viewers on both sides of the war debate. I know when I teach my Holocaust unit, we spend a lot of time looking at wars throughout the decades and comparing/contrasting the issues at hand. It seems to me that the popular culture of each decade is a cultural historian taking note on what is good and bad about a society at the given time. Just because you are a nation at war does not exemt artists from critique. If anything it gives them relentless motivation to let their voices, their story be told. More times then not, the same themes are still ever present in each decade. Just tends to be different conclusions.

This then brings me to the same thought that I had at the beginning of this dialogue. War--what is it good for? I wouldn't say absolutely nothing. War is a good representation of where our nation is at a given period in history, war is a medium for both producers, artists, musicians, teachers to voice their opinions and document historical milestones, war is a way for people to be heard, to become political, or even to stand and do nothing. War is a chance to view the world through a critical lens. War is a chance for us to look at what we are fighting for or against and to decide when enough is enough. War--I guess it might be good for something.