"With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility"
-Voltaire (and later Spider-Man)
Recently The Avengers opened to gigantic business in the United States. With The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises sure to rake in their fair share, the hold of comic book culture is evident, but what role do comics have in our curricula? What role can they have? What role should they have?
Teachers as Comic Book Geeks
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| Sideshow Collectibles Bust of Comic Book Guy |
Looking around, both in my building and virtually, I see many educators who double as comic book geeks. In the past that may have been a secret identity or an origin story buried deep behind layers of academia. Not so in this post-modern era - like Iron Man in recent Marvel Comics story lines, our love of comics is a known element.
Intelligent and thoughtful bloggers such as John T. Spencer and Tom Panarese are incorporating comic books into their educational philosophies, and even directly into their classrooms. In my own Humanities classroom, Stan Lee was researched and presented as an "American Dreamer", and resources were not difficult to find in our excellent school library, let alone on the internet.
Shift to Legitimacy
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| Watchmen cover art |
Graphic Novels are continually gaining legitimacy in English circles. Whereas The New Mutants or Watchmen of my youth were viewed by the supposed experts as glorified funny papers, the apotheosis of this medium is nearing completion. Works such as Persepolis and Maus are pushing the perception of graphic novels as near the pantheon of canon as they have ever been. Additionally, Classic Comics of my youth are now easily replaced in classrooms by original text versions of many classics, whether they be Shakespeare or Shelley.
Most importantly, comics are moving into the spotlight as a medium of expression for students. In our increasingly visual world, the seemingly innocuous skill of constructing a comic can quickly become a springboard for storyboarding full video productions. Companies such as ToonBoom are specifically targeting K-12 to address this shift, and software choices are expanding all the time.
Assemble!
With great power comes great responsibility. Our responsibility is to harness the zeitgeist of comic books and their heroes in our educational practices. In 2012, teaching to student interest rather than squashing it in favor of traditional (outmoded?) materials and methods is an obvious step for any thoughtful educator. For a comic book geek like me, the opportunities appear quite super.
