Mechanical Dolphin

Comics in NZ Education: Guest Post by Raymond Huber

September 27, 2011December 8, 2011Mechanical Dolphin

Today as part of our ongoing feature on comics in New Zealand education, we’re joined by the New Zealand children’s author, editor and educator Raymond Huber. You can find out more about him and his great books, including the Ziggy Bee stories, at http://www.raymondhuber.co.nz/

Here’s Raymond on ‘Comics in the Classroom.’

The thought of comic books in the classroom is frowned upon by many teachers and parents. Comics still have an image problem with many adults – a mistrust of the comic format based on suspicions about quality, content, and most of all, literary value. There might be a grain of truth in the first two: comics used to be cheaply produced, and they can contain offensive material. Some comics do take the Readers Digest approach to literature, but there are also many that now take the comic form to its own artistic heights, especially comic picture books and graphic novels.

Why use comics in the classroom?

Perhaps the best reason is that children love reading stories in the comic form. Consider the Tintin books, selling over 120 million copies, and public libraries often put a limit on withdrawals of the books. Given a choice in class, many children will grab comic picture books before novels. And most of these readers will be boys – another great reason for using comics in class.

Comics in New Zealand Education – Interview with Steve Saville of Alfriston College

September 26, 2011December 8, 2011Mechanical Dolphin

Alfriston College is a Decile 3 school in South Auckland, serving a mixed population of Maori, Pacific Islanders, pakeha and other immigrants.

Working with Jeremy Bishop of DMC Comics – interviewed here on Books and Adventures – Alfriston has produced some striking comic book work thanks to a pioneering project that empowers students and gives them a platform for their creative expression.

Today we’re joined by Deputy Head Steve Saville to discuss Alfriston’s work as part of our ongoing feature on comics in New Zealand education.

Set out in the South Auckland suburbs, Alfriston College is determinedly non-traditional – it’s referred to, by critics and fans alike, as “that place where they play music instead of ringing a bell between lessons”. The school’s philosophy is to use the latest research to deliver education for the 21^st century. Innovations include a timetable of three 100-minute lessons a day, and termly ‘Three Day Episodes’, when students are given time to work on a self-selected project.

As Deputy Head Steve Saville puts it, ‘We’re trying to cultivate things a little bit outside the box. Authenticity and imagination are our watchwords. Traditional schooling was failing disadvantaged communities, and particularly the Maori, so why use it in a brand-new school?’

A British-born teacher with experience in both schools and universities, Steve arrived at Alfriston four years ago as Deputy Principal with responsibility for curriculum, bringing with him a lifelong comic-book obsession.

Comics in New Zealand Education: Interview with Steve Malley

September 22, 2011December 8, 2011Mechanical Dolphin

Today, Books and Adventures continues a series of posts exploring the use of comics in New Zealand education. You can find my New Zealand Education Gazette piece on the subject here.

Artist, author and comic book creator Steve Malley

A fine arts graduate turned tattooist, then comic book creator and novelist, the American Steve Malley was already a wandering soul before a tattoo commission from a Christchurch librarian drew him into the world of New Zealand comic book education.

Minnesota-born Steve abandoned a career as an artist in the US to develop his skills in tattooing, eventually taking his trade to a new home on the South Island of Aotearoa.

Steve wandered into educational work after doing a full sleeve tattoo on a librarian, as he told me over a pint on the outskirts of Christchurch’s quake-shattered Central Business District back in May.

Comics in New Zealand Education: Interview with Jeremy Bishop of Gotham Comics

September 20, 2011December 8, 2011Mechanical Dolphin

Today, Books and Adventures continues a series of posts exploring the use of comics in New Zealand education. You can find my New Zealand Education Gazette piece on the subject here.

Gotham Comics, Auckland, New Zealand — Like a superhero's hideout, this mild-mannered shopfront conceals the geeky treasure trove that is Auckland's Gotham Comics

Publisher, bookstore manager, and former youth librarian, New Zealand’s Jeremy Bishop is a devotee of graphic literature whose passion has led him on an educational crusade to find the Kiwi comics creators of the future in Auckland schools.

Jeremy’s passion for spreading the word into schools is evident as we talk one busy lunchtime at Gotham Comics, the Auckland store which he manages. In between serving regular customers and hurrying his way through a sandwich, he explains:

‘Comic books are a great medium for education. They’re creative and innately interdisciplinary – bringing together English, art, media studies, but also history and social studies. One kid in our workshops pitched a story based on his history coursework – retelling the story of Genghis Khan….on Mars!’

Kiwi comics lead the world: Discussion with New Zealand Education Gazette

September 19, 2011June 28, 2012Mechanical Dolphin

My discussion with New Zealand Education Gazette Editor Geoff Vause can be found in the print-only curriculum support supplement to Volume 90, Issue 17 of the magazine, out today.

In it, we talk about New Zealand’s leading role in the use of comics in the classroom.

You can see more on using comics in the classroom under the comicsedu tag on this site.

Comic book learning in action at Alfriston College — Comic book learning in action at Auckland’s Alfriston College

Kiwi use of comics in education outstrips even that of New York, the hub of the global comic-book industry, according to British educator Dr Matt Finch.

“With its small population, New Zealand encourages contacts between comic book professionals, educators and students in a way that few larger nations can match – and with visual literacy a key element of today’s NZ arts curriculum, Kiwi comics are a more valuable educational resource than ever,” Dr Finch said.

Guest Post: Lee Castledine on Storytelling for Young Children, Part 2

September 18, 2011February 6, 2012Mechanical Dolphin

Today on Books and Adventures, we have the second part of a guest post by Lee Castledine, the Australian storyteller, youth librarian and secretary of the Australian Storytelling Guild.

You can find the first part of this post on Storytelling for Young Children using Props and Audience Participation here.

Props aren’t suitable for all stories and shouldn’t be used to prop up a bad story! It is important to choose simple props that enhance the telling. Don’t overwhelm the story by trying to use too many props or props that are difficult to manoeuvre, as they can distract the audience’s attention from the story. Once you choose your props, it is important to practise using them until you are comfortable handling them without constantly looking at what your hands are doing. Remember, it is vital to maintain eye contact with your audience. Props can help a storyteller to remember the sequence of the story, but if you become distracted with handling the props, you can lose your audience.

Many storytellers are of the opinion that the use of books in storytelling isn’t true storytelling. I agree somewhat, as there is considerable difference between story reading and the art of story telling. But to me, and to many other children’s librarians, a picture book can either be read to an audience, or it can be used as a visual prop for the audience. If a storyteller knows the book well, they don’t read it, they tell it, whilst showing the pictures to the audience to invite audience participation at certain parts of the story.

Guest Post: Lee Castledine on Storytelling for Young Children, Part 1

September 17, 2011September 18, 2011Mechanical Dolphin

Today on Books and Adventures, we’re joined by Lee Castledine, an Australian storyteller, youth librarian and secretary of the Australian Storytelling Guild.

I was lucky enough to see Lee’s workshop on storytelling with young children at the Annual Paint the Town REaD Convention this month. Lee demonstrated her accomplishments as a performer, educator and storytelling maven, and today, Saturday 17th September, I’ll be venturing over to the New South Wales Writers’ Centre to see a Storytelling Workshop Day organised by Lee. Therefore I’m very pleased to present a timely guest post from her on Storytelling for Young Children using Props and Audience Participation.

A candle, a book, an apron, a string, a puppet, a piece of paper….Props used in storytelling for young children can be anything the storyteller can think of, that enhances the story. Some props are useful for encouraging audience participation, and manipulation props enchant the audience. Not all stories need a prop – sometimes actions are the prop.

Guest Post: The Physics of Reading by Raymond Huber

September 14, 2011September 18, 2011Mechanical Dolphin

Continuing our Kiwi theme, today Books and Adventures is joined by New Zealand author and editor Raymond Huber with a guest post on ‘The Physics of Reading’. A skier, teacher, apiculturist and all-round adventurer, Raymond is currently in Australia promoting his novel for junior readers, Wings.

‘The universe is made of stories, not atoms’ (Muriel Rukeyser). There’s truth in the poet’s words: the universe is only 4% atoms while the rest (mysterious dark stuff) has barely been fathomed. Some scientists believe the universe is geared towards the development of mind – ‘The universe is aboutsomething’ (Paul Davies, physicist) . That’s why I think stories matter.

Consider the mental energy of reading for children. ‘When reading takes place, the brain is forever changed’ (Maryanne Wolf). Reading forges new neural pathways which then become available for innovative thinking. One reason for this is that reading a book encourages the brain to be active in constructing and imagining the story. Imagination is like the electromagnetic force which has infinite range. It’s the force behind the great children’s books. In the Moomin stories for example, Tove Jansson imagines a fantasy world populated with endearing creatures such as brave Moomintroll and the shocking Hattifatteners.

‘In a way, the quakes have pushed us to develop our community role’: Interview with Carolyn Robertson of Christchurch City Libraries, New Zealand

September 12, 2011December 8, 2011Mechanical Dolphin

There can be no greater challenge to a library service than a natural disaster – except perhaps that same disaster repeated.

That’s exactly what faced Carolyn Robertson and her team at Christchurch Libraries when, in September 2010 and again in February and June of this year, earthquakes struck their home city on New Zealand’s South Island.

Yet, as Carolyn explained to me recently, ‘In a way, the quakes have pushed us to further develop our community role. They’ve actually strengthened Christchurch Libraries’ vision of equity of access.’

Carolyn Robertson of Christchurch City Libraries, New Zealand — "We understand the word “library” in the widest possible sense." - Carolyn Robertson, Christchurch City Libraries

I visited Carolyn, Christchurch City Libraries and Information Manager, at the city’s South Library earlier this year. It’s one of the liveliest and most modern I’ve seen in on literacy adventures throughout Northern Europe, the USA, and Australia as well as New Zealand.

The community has clearly taken to this bright, multipurpose space which includes a great café, children’s play area and an exceptional periodicals collection. The only evidence of the quakes is a display of letters from well-wishers around the world, which brightens one wall of the reading area.

Yet this lovely headquarters for the library service is actually a fallback space, taken up as the city’s principal library after the February quake put the Central Business District out of bounds.

In the days immediately following the disaster, the librarians of Christchurch demonstrated the importance of libraries as a community service in times of need – a vital message at a time of increasing financial austerity around the world.

Australia’s Paint the Town Read Scheme Brings Communities Together

August 18, 2011September 1, 2011Mechanical Dolphin

Dr Matt Finch with Behind the Book's Comic Workshop in Brooklyn, NYC

Tonight, Thursday 1st September, I’ll be the guest speaker at the opening dinner of Paint the Town REaD’s Annual Convention in Sydney.

You can find them online at their new home, http://paintthetownread.info/

To discover more about this amazing Australian community literacy scheme, read my recent piece on the website of New York literacy organisation Behind the Book:

http://behindthebook.wordpress.com/2011/08/17/in-australia-communities-come-together-to-%E2%80%98paint-the-town-read%E2%80%99-for-early-literacy/