I was reading an article today from the Times-Picayune that details the Comic Book Project, an effort led by Dark Horse Comics to get comics into schools. The goal of the Comic Book Project is to aid educators in getting kids interested in reading:
Students — especially hard-to-reach students — find comic books less intimidating than textbooks, and they frequently can express themselves in comic book form better than they can in traditional writing classes, he said. Plus, the visual medium can be more memorable, which means more lasting learning.
Let’s face it, comics have always been in schools.
I mean, I think this is great and everything, but where the heck was the Comic Book Project when I was in fourth grade? I remember sitting there reading Fantastic Four #195 tucked safely into my spelling text book, when Mrs. Davis snatched it out from under my nose. She sent the comic and me down to Mr. Connell’s office, our gargantuanly proportioned former football player-turned-elementary school principal.
Scariest. Man. Ever.
I’ll never forget his words, “Funny books aren’t for school.”
Well, in your face, Mr. Connell! Guess we showed you, huh?
Now gimme back that book!
You know, I still don’t know how that one ends…
September 11th, 2008 at 8:14 am
Isn’t that the one where they all die at the end? (kidding – we all know it’s the one where Sue Storm reveals she was a man the entire time)
I remember sneaking the Spidey wedding issue to school the day it came out (I was actually able to hit the LCS BEFORE school back in those days). Of course, now it’s all been undone…sob.