Did anyone ever read graphic novels in any of their classes? I never did and now I wonder, why not? I always thought that they were of less literary quality than regular novels because we never used them in school. I thought that they were not considered “real” books and were only created for younger audiences. After reading the article “Graphic Novels 101”, my opinion has completely changed. All you have to do is look through Time’s Top Ten Graphic Novels (http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/0,28757,1883296,00.html) to see why. They aren’t all superhero stories and they are definitely not all for children.
If metaphors, allusions, plot, and setting are really all parts of graphic novels, then why did my teachers neglect to use them? It does not make any sense. Kids love books with illustrations in them! Who does not enjoy looking at books with pictures in them every once in a while? I am sincerely starting to feel shortchanged by my teachers. If you can have fun like that and learn at the same time, why wouldn’t you? Why is so much emphasis put on stories that only contain words when graphic novels can be educational as well?
I am not saying that teachers should exclusively teach graphic novels, but I feel that graphic novels should be introduced as a different type of book so that kids are at least exposed to them. Graphic novels could be an important step in motivating a child to read. I will definitely try to incorporate graphic novels into the classroom when I am a teacher. If you are considering doing the same, or if you just want to know more about graphic novels in general, here is an excellent website to find out more about them: http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/books/graphicnovels.asp#resource. It contains lists of recommended graphic novels for children and teens, reviews of different graphic novels, and articles defending the use of graphic novels in libraries and classrooms.
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I was never assigned to read graphic novels in any of my classes, however I did read a few on my own in spare time I had. I am not sure why my teachers did not give us graphic novels for assigned reading, but I wish they would have. The graphic novels that I have read are enjoyable and worth reading. Pictures in books help draw in people and gain their attention better. It allows for better imagination and having pictures in books helps interpret the story better. No matter what age a person is, they should not feel embarrassed about reading a book with pictures in it. I agree with your statement about feeling shortchanged by teachers. Teachers may not see graphic novels as something appropriate for education, but some of them may be. I have read books relating to history that had pictures in it so I find those to be education. As a future elementary education teacher and I will probably use graphic novels in my classes, especially when it comes to teaching things like history. Graphic novels can make boring subjects come to life for all ages. Reading is reading, and the more a child does it the better he or she will become. Graphic novels have words in them too from time to time, so there is no harm in having a child read one to gain extra practice.
I have never read graphic novels in any of my classes either. I'm also questioning why my teachers never bothered to incorporate a graphic novel into our literary education. In all honesty, I didn't even consider graphic novels until this year. I never learned about them. I believe that if I would have heard of them before than I would of thought that they were more for a younger age group. I stand corrected though because graphic novels are not only made up of pictures. There are metaphors, plots, settings, and etc. attached. I agree with wondering why our teachers never taught us with these books before. I am just now learning about all of the great qualities of graphic novels. I don't feel shortchanged by my teachers, but I do think that there might have been some benefits along the way. I do feel like graphic novels should definitely start to be introduced more often into classrooms for the future generation. Graphic novels are another way to get a child engaged in reading because a lot of people are visual learners. Thanks for the articles, they were very helpful!
Like you, I considered graphic novels as a "lesser" form of literature. Not only because the teachers never used them for educational purposes, but because there was little to no actual text in them. While reading the Graphic Novels 101 article, I really began to understand the value of these novels. Not only are they entertaining (much more entertaining than books that are only words!!!) but as the article stated, the reader uses a whole new set of skills to comprehend, make connections and predictions about the story. Why do we value comprehending visuals less than comprehending text? Visuals are a large part of being present in the world, much more so than reading a hunk of text.
Now that I have learned about them, I think using graphic novels in the classroom is not only inportant but could be a very big contrubitor to classroom attentiveness, students being prepared, and who knows what else? When you have interesting material, students will be engaged.
In defense of your teachers, I think that graphic novels may be more of an up-and-coming medium, and perhaps they were not eduacted about graphic novels. However, I think it is great that we are being educated now, and that we can use this knowledge to make better and more engaging classes for future students.
Thanks for the resources! I plan on picking up some of those books, and I really appreciate the information on the second website!
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