To Teach: The Journey, In Comics
William Ayers and Ryan Alexander-Tanner
“This fascinating and, yes, educational book will certainly be of interest to teachers, but it will also teach, inspire, and entertain anyone else who picks it up.” —Publishers Weekly
This graphic novel brings to life William Ayers’s bestselling memoir To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher. These illustrated stories begin with Ayers’s early days teaching kindergarten and follow this renowned educational theorist on his “voyage of discovery and surprise.” Readers meet fellow travelers from schools across the country and watch as students grow across a year and a lifetime.
To Teach: The Journey, In Comics is a vivid, honest portrayal of the everyday world of teaching and what it means to be a “good” teacher—debunking myths perpetuated on film and in starry-eyed hero/teacher fictions. On the surface, To Teach is primarily the story of William Ayers and his class as they navigate the kindergarten year from introductions to graduation. In the process, we see how Bill Ayers engages with the children as individuals, translates their questions and concerns into fun and educational projects and handles the “weird” people with clipboards who stop by to check his actions against the Regional and National Curriculum.
Fans of scholarly graphic works such as Studs Terkel’s Working: A Graphic Adaptation and A People’s History of American Empire: A Graphic Adaptation will appreciate this pioneering work from Ayers and Alexander-Tanner, while fans of graphic novel memoirs will find much to love in To Teach’s powerful and progressive message.
Dave’s Killer Bread and Ninkasi will be providing food and beverages!
LISTING INFORMATION:
WHO: William Ayers and Ryan Alexander-Tanner
WHAT: Book release and authors’ talk
WHEN: Sunday, May 23th, 6-9pm, authors’ talk 7-8pm
WHERE: Floating World Comics, 20 NW 5th Ave #101
BIO INFORMATION:
Ryan Alexander-Tanner’s art brings to life the learning processes familiar to everyone who has ever been a student or a teacher. Lauren Weinstein, Girl Stories, captures the book’s essence perfectly: “Ayers organizes a classroom like Alexander-Tanner lays out each page: with inventiveness, clarity of purpose and a close attention honoring their individual subjects. I wish I’d read this book before I started teaching and making comics a decade ago; it’s chock full of practical and philosophical advice…I know this book will inspire a generation of teachers to come.” To Teach: The Journey, In Comics is a unique book that reminds us how curiosity, a sense of adventure and a healthy dose of reflection can guide us all.
To Teach: The Journey, In Comics is also a landmark work of collaboration. Ryan Alexander-Tanner lived with William Ayers for over 6 months, at his home in Chicago. This includes the period of time during the 2008 presidential election. The result of a fruitful partnership, To Teach is not just Ayers’ story – the authors also show how other teachers have found ways to engage with, and learn from students. To Teach is a timeless work that challenges the student/teacher dichotomy and opens up a world in which the hard questions aren’t avoided, and it is acceptable for a teacher to say, “Let’s learn this together.”
William Ayers is a Distinguished Professor of Education and Senior University Scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is the author of many acclaimed works on social justice. http://www.billayers.org/
Ryan Alexander-Tanner is a Brooklyn-based art teacher and Xeric Award–winning comic artist. This is his first full-length graphic novel. He is online at: http://www.ohyesverynice.com/
May 1, 2010/ 144 pp./ Paperback, $15.95/ ISBN: 978-0-8077- 5062-9