Noe’s Comics Nook: Teaching Artfully

Review

Teaching Artfully, Meghan Parker’s Master of Arts thesis turned into published work, is a little different from the comics usually reviewed here, in that it is unlikely you’d assign this full comic to students in a K-12 environment. The more likely audience for this work is you, the teacher, and even if you aren’t teaching in an art classroom like she is, you’ll find the deep questions about the art of teaching relatable and important. And, once you’ve finished, you may find that you could assign parts of the comic to your class – such as my suggested lesson plan using the section on Space below. 

In a quote reminiscent of something Lynda Barry has been saying for decades, Parker asks, “What could be communicated if we taught drawing in the same way we do writing? What knowledge are we missing?” I share this not only because it is a marvelous question that gets to the heart of so much of comics studies today, but because it is, to my mind, the heart of this book. Weaved throughout the books insights into education and art theory, is an emphasis that drawing isn’t supplemental, isn’t just another form of communication, but is a way of knowing. We draw to understand. For those invested in comics or the arts, that may seem obvious, but it is a powerful claim in an education world that privileges the written word to the point of punishing students for doodling.

As I write this review, I’m several days removed from finishing Teaching Artfully, which I read slowly over a week’s time, and I am still unable to get some of the questions posed out of my head. As someone working in academia, one panel in particular from page 16 keeps coming back to me. In it, Meghan asks, “Why does scholarship need to look like this,” where the “this” is a stack of loose paper indicative of the standard scholarly article. That’s a question I’ve asked over the years as well, since I find that sharing research on podcasts or even on Twitter is so much more engaging and satisfying than publishing in a journal, inaccessible to most, and in the flattest, most passive language possible. Why would we ever want to read a scholarly article when we could be gaining that same information from a comic? That’s a real question we should be asking. As an aside, I am so grateful this book includes pagination and a references section – and a really clever notes section as well!

While I could keep going on about how much I love this comic, I have to reign it in and end by telling you that it isn’t just the questions, the theory, the words that are wonderful – it is, of course, the artwork as well. I can’t imagine just how many times Meghan had to draw herself in total for this comic, but she captured a fun, kind spirit in herself that leaps off the page and invites you to keep reading. In each section exploring a different element of art, she masterfully bends the comics medium to show you that element and the use of bright color against heavy line work throughout makes every panel pop. Teaching Artfully is a delight to read and is a comic that educators will return to over and over.

Elements of Story

Plot: Teaching Artfully traces Meghan Parker’s explorations of teaching art in a high school setting, raising important questions about pedagogy, built environments, and the privileging of words over images.

Characters: Meghan Parker, various students, the ideas themselves

Major Settings: The Classroom

Themes: Education, comics as scholarship, drawing as language, drawing as meaning making

Lesson Plan Idea Using Common Core Standards (CCS)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3 – Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

Directions: Parker begins her section on the artistic element of Space with the following paragraph:

“Space is the element of art that refers to a sense of depth, as well as positive and negative space. What kinds of spaces are we creating in schools? How can we create welcoming learning spaces for students? How can we make space for ideas and possibilities?”

This section then goes on to explore how she has investigated her classroom space over time and shows several possible ways of doing this through the act of drawing. In one example, on page 185, we see a stripped away environment with the teacher at the head of the class. In another, on page 187, she illustrates the various objects in the classroom and the demands that make on her. Each of these ways of viewing is valid and provides insight into how we interact with and live within our built environment – and how the choices those with control make impact those without.

For this assignment, we are aiming to create a dialogue between students and teacher about the shared, built space of the classroom. Each student, and teacher, will choose an illustrated method for evaluating the classroom, will draw it out, and will then share it with the full class. The method chosen might be one found in Teaching Artfully or it may not – it could even be one that the students themselves devise to best illustrate how they are understanding the space. For this assignment to be successful, the teacher needs to be open and willing to incorporate some of the ideas and feedback that the students share in their work. Students will be graded on the amount of thought and care that goes into their investigation, not their artistic “quality,” and should be applauded for sharing honestly.