Comics in the Classroom
By Adam Umak
"I think that the students wrote better because they enjoyed the comic in class," said Tingley. "They all had positive experiences in the class activities. This alone is hard to accomplish. I think they stepped their work up knowing that the actual author would be reading their work. They get a kick out of it. I have a couple kids that want to be authors and illustrators and they love the fact that a pro will see their work."
Students in Frontier Regional High School’s Sequential Art/Storyboarding class have daily opportunities for a comics professional to see, critique, and even grade their work. In his time away from the classroom, art teacher Jack Purcell is an inker for DC Comics. Notably, Purcell has inked issues of JSA Classified and Gotham Underground. In a short amount of time at FRHS, he has developed a course to align with state curriculum standards and created a buzz around the school community about comics and sequential art.
"This class encapsulates all of the principles and elements of art. In class, we work on story structure and scripting to the actual nuts and bolts of inking," said Purcell. "Sequential art lends itself nicely to other classes. Students who take a video productions class can be successful based on storyboarding activities. A student in English class can be successful in my class because of all of their reading experiences and creative thinking."
With high exposure in American popular culture, it is easy to see the penetration comics, the superhero genre, and graphic media have in the youth market. Teachers are not only using comics to reach curricular objectives, but are also exposing the next generation of readers to new reading formats and literacy skills. In many cases, states have adopted standards in visual literacy. Literacy is not limited to simply reading for information or literary experiences or analyzing informational texts. Visual literacy measures students' abilities to create and process information presented in graphical form. Much like traditional definitions of reading, visual literacy is also marked by fluency and finesse for readers.
The creative objectives and processes involved in any given sequential art project are overwhelming. In Purcell’s class, students create their own characters, study camera angles, compose outlines, and most popularly, pencil and ink multiple comic pages of their own creation. Using comics as examples, models, and in-class activities, Purcell’s lesson plans are tied in with theorist Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences. Gardner’s eight ranged areas for thought and learning styles are used by educators to vary lessons and differentiate instruction. These learning modes help students accelerate on assignments. One of Purcell’s assignments has students pencil another student’s script. The students then compare and contrast how the two unique artistic interpretations impacted the same script. Comics have a firm root in learning styles. With higher-order activities, educators are able to incorporate linguistic, spatial, mathematical, kinetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic, and musical modalities into lesson planning.
"A lot of teachers don’t understand what comic books truly are as a legitimate art form. The industry to an outsider is confusing and therefore can be easily brushed off without critical consideration. Initially, I had a lot of peers that needed some convincing. It’s like studying a dictionary to study for a spelling bee. Where does someone begin reading? I can understand their dilemma. When I was a kid, I thought a machine made my comics," said Purcell. "If you are a creative teacher, you should be able to work these into your class or explore different aspects of comics. There are so many opportunities. But, a lot of work needs to be done before schools completely accept comics and graphic novels."
Look up your favorite comics (Superman, Black Cat) or topic (Artist Interviews, Reviews)