(By Peter Bagge)
(Harvey Pekar)
What was most interesting was that these artists never seemed to write about teaching and education in their work. However, they do have much wisdom to share about life, and I think their progressive sensibilities match up well with William Ayers.
I had heard of Ayers from the 2008 and 2012 elections. President Obama has been linked to Ayers, due to Ayers' inclusion in The Weather Underground, a radical student leftist group that were founded in the 1970's. I think they had crossed paths in Chicago at some point. I had no idea Ayers was an educator, only that he was a feature on many Fox News and other right-leaning programs.
Ironically, he writes about the myths of teaching, and he has his own myth about him. On page 3, he compares teaching to an Odyssey, "an epic, solitary quest." I thought this metaphor was right on target.
Students don't learn everything all at once. We must teach them throughout the year, a little at a time, while wacky challenges are thrown in our direction, much like Homer trying to make his way home to his wife Penelope in The Odyssey. "The teachers trudges toward an uncertain future without easy rewards." Yet, he also points out "it's often the myths themselves that the young teacher must fight against."
I picked up on this idea of myths when I first started in education. I was substitute teaching where I had attended high school and thought I was more aware than I had been when I was a student there. I observed how the teachers and students both bought into many myths and labels, whether it was about someone's reputation or how the real world actually worked. Ayers writes "labels are lazy, static" (21). I always had this thought in my head, yet I could never quite pull it into words. I think this is an important part about teaching and learning: we have to look past these easy labels and myths and try to "open our eyes, always, to the true children before us: dynamic, 3-dimensional, trembling, and real" (19). When my former teachers were buying into these same labels, I was disappointed, and swore I wouldn't teach that way. When I first became a credit recovery teacher, I had to put this into practice, which was harder than I thought.
In Chapter 2: "Seeing the Student," Ayers introduces us to a young student named Quinn. He shows the student in class, enthusiastically learning and treating his fellow students with respect. From the outside, to administrators, he looks like a typical A.D.D. student. However, on pages 27-29, Ayers shows how Quinn is learning in all sorts of ways that are not seen by the common eye. He points out how paying attention to details are important to learning how a student learns. I thought this went along well with Ayers' decision to publish this graphic novel. He could've taught us how he thought details were important via the written word. However, the comics demonstrated this point in a more visceral way. I especially thought this about the comic on page 29, when Quinn was helping a student he had accidentally bumped into. The image was much more powerful than the words.
I had a little more trouble connecting with Chapter 3 "Creating an Environment for Learning." I don't doubt the importance of the space students have for learning. However, it struck me as more driven towards an elementary or preschool teacher. In my experience, I just don't see the difference with high school students. I had a U-shaped classroom the past two years. This year, my new room is too small for a U, so I have the traditional rows. I haven't seen much of a difference. I wonder if I haven't thought about this enough?
The building bridges metaphor in Chapter 4 was another analogy that Ayers nailed. I thought it was interesting that Ayers cut the first story, about building a bridge for his class turtle, into two parts. The story was interrupted by another story, about a friend of his who teaches high school. The teacher had been attempting to have a dialogue about race that back-fired. He admitted he hadn't quite built the bridge for his students to be able to speak about such a tricky subject. I've been attempting to do that exact thing in one of my classes this year. I am attempting to build a bridge to more higher conceptual discussions about race, sex, and gender in the country. Instead of jumping in the deep end, I'm attempting to start slow. I think students learn better this way when learning about complicated, controversial subjects.
I picked up on this idea of myths when I first started in education. I was substitute teaching where I had attended high school and thought I was more aware than I had been when I was a student there. I observed how the teachers and students both bought into many myths and labels, whether it was about someone's reputation or how the real world actually worked. Ayers writes "labels are lazy, static" (21). I always had this thought in my head, yet I could never quite pull it into words. I think this is an important part about teaching and learning: we have to look past these easy labels and myths and try to "open our eyes, always, to the true children before us: dynamic, 3-dimensional, trembling, and real" (19). When my former teachers were buying into these same labels, I was disappointed, and swore I wouldn't teach that way. When I first became a credit recovery teacher, I had to put this into practice, which was harder than I thought.
In Chapter 2: "Seeing the Student," Ayers introduces us to a young student named Quinn. He shows the student in class, enthusiastically learning and treating his fellow students with respect. From the outside, to administrators, he looks like a typical A.D.D. student. However, on pages 27-29, Ayers shows how Quinn is learning in all sorts of ways that are not seen by the common eye. He points out how paying attention to details are important to learning how a student learns. I thought this went along well with Ayers' decision to publish this graphic novel. He could've taught us how he thought details were important via the written word. However, the comics demonstrated this point in a more visceral way. I especially thought this about the comic on page 29, when Quinn was helping a student he had accidentally bumped into. The image was much more powerful than the words.
I had a little more trouble connecting with Chapter 3 "Creating an Environment for Learning." I don't doubt the importance of the space students have for learning. However, it struck me as more driven towards an elementary or preschool teacher. In my experience, I just don't see the difference with high school students. I had a U-shaped classroom the past two years. This year, my new room is too small for a U, so I have the traditional rows. I haven't seen much of a difference. I wonder if I haven't thought about this enough?
The building bridges metaphor in Chapter 4 was another analogy that Ayers nailed. I thought it was interesting that Ayers cut the first story, about building a bridge for his class turtle, into two parts. The story was interrupted by another story, about a friend of his who teaches high school. The teacher had been attempting to have a dialogue about race that back-fired. He admitted he hadn't quite built the bridge for his students to be able to speak about such a tricky subject. I've been attempting to do that exact thing in one of my classes this year. I am attempting to build a bridge to more higher conceptual discussions about race, sex, and gender in the country. Instead of jumping in the deep end, I'm attempting to start slow. I think students learn better this way when learning about complicated, controversial subjects.
Last spring, the English department were debating the upcoming summer reading selections. I suggested we read a graphic novel, and I was nearly laughed out of the room. I was relatively insulted, considering I had a decent grasp on how graphic novels could help students learn. However, I lacked the language to argue for graphic novels. Ayers' Introduction resonated with me. I think graphic novels do have the potential to teach and help students learn. Graphic novels don't only have words and pictures: they're part of a "third, all-new form - sequential art and a dazzling dance of dialectic" (XIV). In a world where images are increasingly influential (Instagram and Snap-Chat, the newest technology fads, are mostly image-driven) and students read less and less, I would hope that an emerging resource would be sought after, not laughed at.
"Teaching at its best is not a matter of technique - it's primarily an act of love" (11). This quote particularly resonated with me and I hope I will keep it in mind the rest of the school year!
"Teaching at its best is not a matter of technique - it's primarily an act of love" (11). This quote particularly resonated with me and I hope I will keep it in mind the rest of the school year!
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