Discussion: Maureen's Book - Teaching Learning From Comics

30 min.

This discussion is about Maureen’s BOOK!  Title:  The Graphic Novel Classroom:  POWerful Teaching with Learning and Images, published by Corwin Press, 2011

Folks check out the cover graphic if nothing else!!!!  

https://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Novel-Classroom-POWerful-Teaching/dp/1628737344.      ENJOY!

--------

Using graphic novels as her main tool, Maureen taught young people how to reflect on how they make meaning from images based on their conditioned life experiences and how to negotiate meaning socially, with their peers. This experience ultimately led Maureen to a career as a psychotherapist and wellness educator at Landscapes for Learning. 

Graphic novels created within the comics medium of communication afforded Maureen the opportunity to learn about how humans make meaning together based on a process of social negotiation. The world isn't just how I see it. It's how WE see it. "Me" has to be willing to be a "We." 

Maureen learned how this process of social negotiation of meaning and communication required self-regulation--  her own regulation as the classroom manager and learning facilitator-- and her students' as pre-occupied teenagers. Teaching the process of metacognition, (how we know how we know) mindfulness (not attaching to thoughts/we aren't our thoughts), and nervous system regulation (assessing safety and threat within ourselves/ fight/flight/freeze, etc..) within the context of teaching English brought her to her psychology passion and new career. 

Maureen had to remain calm and alert enough to create space and not interefere or control students so they could viscerally experience this meaning-making process for themselves.

Real learning is a messy process. It includes making mistakes, becoming dysregulated, getting emotionally upset, offensive and insensitive remarks. These things happen when mindbodies try to formulate what they think and attempt to express it to others. Dealing with others' differing opinions can be a stress-filled situation. 

Maureen saw how trigger-warnings and other safe-space and speech-limiting school policies were creeping into classrooms and interfering with this important learning process. Protecting students from hurt feelings and discomfort created weaker, less courageous individuals who feared others and developed unhealthy dependence on adults. 

It's a problem of our age - time and era, not birth years.  

Helping students unlearn the conditioning of "finding the one right answer to get the grade" was a challenge and joy.