Use and Users
Our collection is designed for users that are looking to further their education about historical events and people. While for many reading is a wonderful way to learn and become more familiar with history, we understand that long passages of text aren’t the best way for everyone to learn and commit information to memory. The beautiful thing about comic books is that they can tell the same stories and share the same information in a way that’s much easier to understand and digest. We hope that this collection will benefit the following user groups in that way:
Teachers - Non-fiction comic books are a great way to supplement a teacher’s lesson plan. It’s hard to get kids to focus and take textbooks seriously. A lot of textbooks end up unread, untouched, or full of scribbles and pencil markings due to boredom. Graphic novels are a great way to help teachers engage their students and make them interested in the subject matter.
A teacher saying “your homework for this week is to read this graphic novel” is a lot more exciting than “your homework for this week is to read chapters 8-10 in your textbook.” This bridges a gap between a lesson plan and the student’s interests, making them a lot more likely to invest in the reading and absorb the information. This integration of graphic novels into a teacher’s lesson plan also saves the teacher from some of the stress in getting their students to care about the readings and assignments.
Students - This collection can be used by a range of students in middle school, high school, and college. These books can be used to enhance their understanding of subjects they’re learning about in school or be used for research papers and assignments. A lot of students have a hard time reading from textbooks. It’s hard to relate to stories of people and events that have happened a long time ago. While a lot of textbooks include images or historical pictures, it’s not always enough to engage the student. A lot of kids growing up place these historical figures in another dimension of understanding, but seeing the stories in a visual better helps kids to see these things as real, making them engage more and commit it to a deeper memory and understanding.
It’s also common for moments in history to be told from the perspective of one group of people. The perspective of minority groups during historical events are often underrepresented in the classroom. Graphic novels often represent these voices and offer an alternate view of history that many students may not be exposed to by their teacher. These graphic novels are a chance for students that are interested in learning about these underrepresented aspects of history to teach themselves.
Adult Learners - For many of us, the thirst for knowledge never goes away. A lot of people had bad experiences learning about particular movements, political figures, and historical events when they went through school. It’s also possible that they were never educated or informed about these things in the first place. While many of us do undergo a good and well-rounded education, a lot of people struggle through lecture-based classes or even end up feeling like they weren’t taught about things to the extent that they could have been.
Graphic novels provide a fun learning experience for all ages and allow adults to re-educate themselves about topics they might feel that they missed out on during their school education. Many adults might not have the patience to read through a thick textbook, but the fact that graphic novels are a combination of art and writing makes it all the easier to pick up a book and self-educate. Graphic novels are also convenient in that they make it easier to fit the busy lives and schedules of adults that work full-time and provide for a family. They can learn about a number of topics with greater convenience and have more fun while doing so.