tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4570136224774191385.post5950678614873835157..comments2024-03-05T12:36:24.236+00:00Comments on Neill's blog: Comics and Literacy, part 1: Why Reading Comics MattersNeillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13689901140275643742noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4570136224774191385.post-86216421243260866532014-09-29T21:00:14.576+01:002014-09-29T21:00:14.576+01:00Get teachers turned onto the benefits of comics an...Get teachers turned onto the benefits of comics and the literacy skills that are developed through reading them. The programmes of study for English ask for children to read widely across a range of fiction and non fiction and to develop comprehension skills in discussion with a teacher - comics are perfect for that as there's so much to discuss! I showed my sister and husband a comic at the weekend, one that our comic group made, and they laughed in all the right places and were really impressed, but the comment that stuck with me was 'There's actually a lot involved in reading a comic isn't there? Its quite complicated to work out what's going on and what's happened in each panel, I'm really having to think!' THAT'S the attitude that needs to be shown to teachers and people in charge of texts in the curriculum. I'll stop the ranting now....Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10167023226359095495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4570136224774191385.post-50198487273559008352014-09-29T18:34:44.091+01:002014-09-29T18:34:44.091+01:00Thanks Alix! That's a really good point, that ...Thanks Alix! That's a really good point, that its hard for schools to measure results from using comics, and that that's why they don't. I hadn't thought of that, and it bums me out. What can we do about it? <br /><br />HMMMM.Neillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13689901140275643742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4570136224774191385.post-53854656918945219802014-09-29T16:58:27.099+01:002014-09-29T16:58:27.099+01:00I was going to reply on twitter but there's ju...I was going to reply on twitter but there's just not enough in 140 characters to say how much I agree with ALL this. I still don't get why people disparage comics and say 'only reading comics' - there is so many complex literacy processes going on when reading a comic that is hard to measure. That's why schools don't use them - it's hard to measure the results of a child's interest, understanding and amount of words read in a comic, whereas it's easier to measure accuracy in a standard text. Also teachers who don't read comics can't talk about them to kids, and there are no Cliffs notes to help them! Completely agree about how many comics there were in the 'olden days' too, I read so many, and have passed it on to my daughters. I don't understand the reluctance of so many people to encourage their children to read through comics, what happens in the transition from reading picture books to text books and why aren't comics used to ease it - I'm even considering studying it as a subject for a PhD, if I wasn't so busy reading! Well said Neill, excellent rant. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10167023226359095495noreply@blogger.com