Comic Books And Other Hooks 21st Century Education

21st Century education is at the cross-roads. It can continue to be defined by a narrow scope, benefiting the median student who can muster moments of brilliance assisted by the technology he or she so easily wields, or it can salvage what was deemed noble by tradition and merge them with the modernistic tools and educational innovations of the new century. Education has reached a point where its students and parents have either seen the limitations of the system and accepted them, or have forged some external responses to them. These retorts can be seen in the following manifestations: the rise of after- school athletics, where sports are now played that have been deemed too aggressive for school, the explosion of tutoring centres who are capitalizing on the fact that process has been a small part of the curriculum and rudimentary skills are overshadowed by what can be best described as educational pulp, and finally, the growth of the independent/private schools and home schooling, where total abdication from public systems has come to rest. Comic books, robotics, industrial arts, instrumental music, cooking, camping, fine art, and other genuine experiential initiatives need to be examined by today's schools. The empty promises of video games and their ethereal claim to genuine experience has produced a significant student body that is resigned to mediocrity, and virtual encounters that provide neither the authentic feeling of victory, nor the reviled sting of true defeat. Students are looking for the genuine, in their teachers, lessons, and activities. 21st Century education by comic book or by hook will rest in the power of professional dynamism and the authentic teaching of practice, process, and prolonged proficiency.

Building off the argument that comics succeed as literature—rich, complex narratives filled with compelling characters interrogating the thought-provoking issues of our time—this book argues that comics are an expressive medium whose moves (structural and aesthetic) may be shared by literature, the visual arts, and film, but beyond this are a unique art form possessing qualities these other mediums do not. Drawing from a range of current comics scholarship demonstrating this point, this book explores the unique intelligence/s of comics and how they expand the ways readers engage with the world in ways different than prose, or film, or other visual arts. Written by teachers and scholars of comics for instructors, this book bridges research and pedagogy, providing instructors with models of critical readings around a variety of comics.

'Truth And Dare' is a comic book and a curriculum, a graphic novel and a gateway to further knowledge and action. With 50 pages of illustrations from nine different world-class artists, and a 10-page curriculum and resource list, it is a crash course in world history, political economy, sociology, gender studies, ecology, climate change and the world-wide eco-socialist struggle for humanity and nature in the 21st century.

Presents an account, first published in 1622, of the Pilgrim's journey to the new world.

The United States of America after the Second Civil War. Two people meet and fall in love. One, a very orderly vegan hacker ready to make some mess. The other, a chaotic cop with a reality TV show that never stops. With the entire Republic of New California after them, they run. A ballistic sci-fi action romance miniseries in the vein of Mad Max and Romeo and Juliet by ALEŠ KOT, TRADD MOORE, and HEATHER MOORE. Collects THE NEW WORLD #1-5

Tight: Lately, Bryan's been feeling it in all kinds of ways . . . Bryan knows what's tight for him--reading comics, drawing superheroes, and hanging out with no drama. But drama is every day where he's from, and that gets him tight, wound up. And now Bryan's friend Mike pressures him with ideas of fun that are crazy risky. At first, it's a rush following Mike, hopping turnstiles, subway surfing, and getting into all kinds of trouble. But Bryan never really feels right acting so wrong, and drama really isn't him. So which way will he go, especially when his dad tells him it's better to be hard and feared than liked? But if there's one thing Bryan's gotten from his comic heroes, it's that he has power--to stand up for what he feels . . . Torrey Maldonado delivers a fast-paced, insightful, dynamic story capturing urban community life. Readers will connect with Bryan's journey as he navigates a tough world with a heartfelt desire for a different life.

Ten years ago, bell hooks astonished readers with Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. Now comes Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope - a powerful, visionary work that will enrich our teaching and our lives. Combining critical thinking about education with autobiographical narratives, hooks invites readers to extend the discourse of race, gender, class and nationality beyond the classroom into everyday situations of learning. bell hooks writes candidly about her own experiences. Teaching, she explains, can happen anywhere, any time - not just in college classrooms but in churches, in bookstores, in homes where people get together to share ideas that affect their daily lives. In Teaching Community bell hooks seeks to theorize from the place of the positive, looking at what works. Writing about struggles to end racism and white supremacy, she makes the useful point that "No one is born a racist. Everyone makes a choice." Teaching Community tells us how we can choose to end racism and create a beloved community. hooks looks at many issues-among them, spirituality in the classroom, white people looking to end racism, and erotic relationships between professors and students. Spirit, struggle, service, love, the ideals of shared knowledge and shared learning - these values motivate progressive social change. Teachers of vision know that democratic education can never be confined to a classroom. Teaching - so often undervalued in our society -- can be a joyous and inclusive activity. bell hooks shows the way. "When teachers teach with love, combining care, commitment, knowledge, responsibility, respect, and trust, we are often able to enter the classroom and go straight to the heart of the matter, which is knowing what to do on any given day to create the best climate for learning."

ENIGMA is a thought-provoking post-modern tale of self-discovery and sexual identity told against the backdrop of improbable super-heroes and villains. Michael Smith lives a meaningless life of routine and boredom. But when Enigma, his favorite childhood comic book hero, inexplicably comes to life, Smith finds himself on an obsessive crusade to uncover the secret behind his improbable existence. Teaming with Enigma's comic creator, Smith encounters an insanity-inducing psychopath, a brain-eating serial killer, and a suicide-inciting clown posse as his quest uncovers hidden truths about both his idol and himself. This new edition of the Vertigo classic is written by Peter Milligan (JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK, RED LANTERNS) with kinetic art by Duncan Fegredo (SHADE THE CHANGING MAN). Collects ENIGMA #1-8.

New York Times Bestseller Named one of the Best Books of the Year by NPR, the Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews, and Library Journal Winner of the Audie Award The New York Times bestseller from the author of Watchmen and V for Vendetta finally appears in a one-volume paperback. Begging comparisons to Tolstoy and Joyce, this “magnificent, sprawling cosmic epic” (Guardian) by Alan Moore—the genre-defying, “groundbreaking, hairy genius of our generation” (NPR)—takes its place among the most notable works of contemporary English literature. In decaying Northampton, eternity loiters between housing projects. Among saints, kings, prostitutes, and derelicts, a timeline unravels: second-century fiends wait in urine-scented stairwells, delinquent specters undermine a century with tunnels, and in upstairs parlors, laborers with golden blood reduce fate to a snooker tournament. Through the labyrinthine streets and pages of Jerusalem tread ghosts singing hymns of wealth and poverty. They celebrate the English language, challenge mortality post-Einstein, and insist upon their slum as Blake’s eternal holy city in “Moore’s apotheosis, a fourth-dimensional symphony” (Entertainment Weekly). This “brilliant . . . monumentally ambitious” tale from the gutter is “a massive literary achievement for our time—and maybe for all times simultaneously” (Washington Post).