Jiri G. Ruzicka’s “American Superheroes and the Politics of Good and Evil,” poses the statement, “The United States of America is the promised land for comics” (Ruzicka 46). Comic books have been around for a very long time — almost dating back to the late 1800’s. Many see these books as merely a form of entertainment; however, they are more significant than that. Comics and graphic novels reflect the American societal values of the time through their main characters, the character’s struggles and the character’s adversaries. The fact that comics and graphic novels contain the social ideology of the time and are entertaining, makes them a good learning aid for social studies. Comic books often contained content that related to what the nation
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They are useful for a variety of subjects. According to BBC News, “There are now thought to be about 150 comic scholars in the UK - university lecturers, PhD students and independent researchers. They are exploring how subjects such as gender, feminism, history and mental and physical health are portrayed”(Armstrong 1). This shows that comic books cover a vast array of topics, making them an ideal resource. Kids will be able to cover various amount of material and will also better grasp that material because it will be more exciting and relative to their interests. Teachers can use the students interest in the comics’ characters and action-packed story to their advantage when creating lesson plans. Comics and graphic novels could be the answer to maximizing a student 's learning …show more content…
However, there is still concern in the content of this medium. Comic books are known to contain violence, language and in some cases sexual content. This factor raises great alarm among school officials. But this content can be found in ordinary books also and no one objects to them being in school libraries. This is discussed in the article “It’s not Censorship, It’s Parenting,” when author Erin Manning states, “Because we no longer live in a world where it would be unthinkable for an authority figure to give a child a book in which depictions of sex, violence, drug use, profanity and the like are major elements, it is no longer safe to delegate the choice of reading material for our children to such entities as the school teacher or school librarian.” The article is speaking on the fact that regular books that contain inappropriate content yet are still being allowed in schools. This is due to the the lack of awareness of the teacher and/or librarian. Therefore parents, who will definitely not allow for their kids to be exposed to such content, should assess each graphic novel before allowing it to enter the classroom. This will assure that only appropriate content will be provided for the students to use because parents are surely to be more conscientious towards what their child is being exposed to in the
They are useful for a variety of subjects. According to BBC News, “There are now thought to be about 150 comic scholars in the UK - university lecturers, PhD students and independent researchers. They are exploring how subjects such as gender, feminism, history and mental and physical health are portrayed”(Armstrong 1). This shows that comic books cover a vast array of topics, making them an ideal resource. Kids will be able to cover various amount of material and will also better grasp that material because it will be more exciting and relative to their interests. Teachers can use the students interest in the comics’ characters and action-packed story to their advantage when creating lesson plans. Comics and graphic novels could be the answer to maximizing a student 's learning …show more content…
However, there is still concern in the content of this medium. Comic books are known to contain violence, language and in some cases sexual content. This factor raises great alarm among school officials. But this content can be found in ordinary books also and no one objects to them being in school libraries. This is discussed in the article “It’s not Censorship, It’s Parenting,” when author Erin Manning states, “Because we no longer live in a world where it would be unthinkable for an authority figure to give a child a book in which depictions of sex, violence, drug use, profanity and the like are major elements, it is no longer safe to delegate the choice of reading material for our children to such entities as the school teacher or school librarian.” The article is speaking on the fact that regular books that contain inappropriate content yet are still being allowed in schools. This is due to the the lack of awareness of the teacher and/or librarian. Therefore parents, who will definitely not allow for their kids to be exposed to such content, should assess each graphic novel before allowing it to enter the classroom. This will assure that only appropriate content will be provided for the students to use because parents are surely to be more conscientious towards what their child is being exposed to in the