Webinar Video

       The Engaging Accelerated and Reluctant Readers with Comics webinar I participated in last week is now available on video.  It's free and streaming right here.

Webinar Registration

      Engaging Accelerated and Reluctant Readers with Comics, a free webinar I am one of the panelists for, is next Thursday, February 25th at 7:00 PM (ET) and here is the registration.  Please join us!

Readers and Comics Webinar

      I'm delighted to be joining a panel of experienced educators for a webinar on, as the title says, Engaging Accelerated and Reluctant Readers with Comics.  If you're an educator or librarian or are interested or invested in literacy education and comics, please join us on Thursday, February 25th at 7:00 PM (ET).  Registration is free and you can find it right here, along with a space to post questions for the panelists. 

Notes from the Field

     The July Booklist is the graphic novel spotlight issue and features, among many worthwhile things, an interview with me on the subject of comics and graphic novels in school libraries, the evolution of the form and its expansive future.  Have a look right here.
    

Beyond

     While Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi seems to be eliciting a complicated reaction from Star Wars fans, among its sundry pleasures and occasional frustrations, I found a piece of wisdom that really resonated for me as a teacher.  Commenting on the relationship between teachers and students, a Jedi master of some note poignantly observes "We are what they move beyond.  That is the true burden of all masters."
    If we did our job right, our students leave us far, far behind.  It gets you right in the heart sometimes, but how will the world get better unless the young come to understand more deeply and act more bravely than their mentors?
    
     

LGBTQ GNs

School Library Journal recently published this article on the growing world of LGBTQ comics, written by my fellow Eisner judge, Brigid Alverson.  Filled with excellent information and insights, it also features a few thoughts from yours truly.

 

NSA Today

     For their honors project, four students at LREI produced two interlocking webcomics.  One puts into comic form excerpts from actual National Security Agency documents, the other tells a story based on those excerpts.  Both feature sharp scripts and striking art, all supported by a polished and professional looking website (completely coded by one of the students).  Hopefully, the project will continue as an independent endeavor, but you can see the beginning of it at nsa-today.com.  Congratulations to Erika, Harry, Luke and Nicole on a superlative job. 

Action: Captured

     With thanks to panelists Jorge Aguirre, Raul Gonzalez, Deb Lucke and George O'Connor, last Saturday's Capturing the Action panel at BookFest was a delight (speaking for myself, at least).  Have a look at pictures of the whole day right here.

Capturing the Action on KidLitTV

     Capturing the Action: Graphic Novels and Visual Literacy, the panel I'll be moderating for BookFest@Bank Street on Saturday, is going to be live streaming on KidLitTV.  If you can't join us in person, please have a look via the link above.
 

Capturing the Action

     I will be moderating the panel Capturing the Action: Graphic Novels and Visual Literacy at the Bank Street BookFest 2016, which takes place on Saturday, October 22nd.  The entire event runs from 9:00-4:00 P.M.  The panel itself takes place from 2:05-2:50 P.M. and features Jorge Aguirre, Deb Lucke, Raul the Third and George O'Connor.
     If you are in the area, please join us.

Talking with Don Brown

     The September 2016 issue of Booklinks features an article by yours truly which includes an interview with the children's author and graphic novelist Don Brown, a short reading list of his works and several suggested classroom activities.  Have a look here.

Multicultural Graphic Novels

     The January 2016 issue of Booklinks features an article by yours truly on the subject of multicultural graphic novels, including a reading list and suggested classroom activities.  Have a look here.

Satisfaction

     The most satisfying thing about being an educator is seeing a former student achieve well-deserved success.  One of my former graduate students recently posted this piece for the Scholastic blog on a subject close to my heart.  It's nice to know there are such thoughtful and incisive people at the vanguard of this issue.

Comics Connector

     The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has been safeguarding the rights of comic book professionals for almost forty years now.  Recently, they launched the Comics Connector online resource, which helps schools find people who work in the comic book field to come for visits and discussions.  For more on this excellent initiative to tap into the form's educational potential, have a look at this article from School Library Journal, which includes comments from yours truly.

Couples Retreat Redux

     The last Couples Retreat, a conference on collaboration hosted by the LREI librarians and Tech teachers, went so well, they asked us to do it again.  The next retreat will take place on Friday, May 1st, when the fine folks at Fieldston have agreed to co-host and open up their space for attendees.  All details can be found here.
     If you missed it last time, please join us.

    

Perseverance

     Working in education, you often hear about how traits like intelligence, good memory and being a good listener are all secondary to success.  The primary quality to achieve what you need to in life?  Perseverance, the ability to work at something and just keep working at it.
     Samuel Johnson, an 18th Century English poet, essayist critic and moralist, said "great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance."
     Newt Gingrich, 2012 candidate for the Republican Party presidential nomination among many other things, said "perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did."
     Sometimes you just gotta shut up and work harder.

Couples Retreat

   On Wednesday, October 22nd, the librarians and Tech teachers of LREI (myself included) are hosting a workshop focusing on the collaboration between libraries and technology departments.  All details can be found here. 
     If the program is of interest, please join us.

    

Art Spiegelman and the Jewish Museum (and Me)

     Responsible for defining an era in comics and redefining the medium itself, Art Spiegelman is the subject of an exhibition at the Jewish Museum in New York City.  I will be doing my small part by leading a discussion for educators called Literacy and the Graphic Novel, this coming Monday, December 9th at 4:00.  The discussion will be followed by a tour of the exhibition.  If you are an educator and are in the area, please join us.  You can still register here.
  

Art on the Mind

     The Brooklyn Book Festival is hosting a discussion about comics and education on September 22nd.  What promises to be a worthwhile event given only on the subject matter becomes an unmissable opportunity based on some of the people involved, including Francois Mouly and Gene Yang, two luminaries of the sequential art world. 
     Here's the official rundown:

       5:00 P.M., Sunday, September 22nd - Art on the Mind: Comics and Education. Françoise Mouly (Toon Books) in conversation with National Book Award finalist Gene Yang (Boxers & Saints), R. Kikuo Johnson (The Shark King) and Professor Barbara Tversky of Teachers College. In this era of high-stakes testing, comics aren't just a refreshing change of pace for students-they take on deep subjects and teach multimodal literacy, offering educators, librarians, and parents a new way to approach learning. Featuring screen projection.

      For more information about the festival, have a look here.  If you're in the area, this promises to be a deep and rewarding talk.
     

    

The Librarians Recommend

     Just in time to go back to school, here is a post on the International Reading Association's website, featuring an appropriate theme.  My own contribution is on the bottom of the page.