To Teach: The Journey, in Comics »

This graphic novel brings to life William Ayers's bestselling text To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher (new third edition due May 2010). A vivid, honest portrayal of the everyday magic of teaching, and what it means to be a "good" teacher, it debunks myths perpetuated on film and other starry-eyed hero/teacher fictions. Illuminated by the evocative and wry drawings of Ryan Alexander-Tanner, this graphic version of To Teach will engage while it instructs. It is a much-needed reminder of how curiosity, a sense of adventure, and a healthy dose of reflection can guide us all to learn the most from this world as we educate the next generation. Teacher educators and professional developers will want to use this dynamic graphic novel alongside the traditional text for a unique teaching and learning experience.

Publishers Weekly

Quinn is a pudgy and energetic boy, whose enthusiastic embrace of snack time prompts a school administrator to label him “hyperactive disordered.” His teacher, however, notes, “it's too easy to caricature every excitable African-American boy as 'at risk' ” and goes on to identify Quinn's many strengths and then persistently encourage them. That teacher is Bill Ayers, the school reform activist and a cofounder of the Weather Underground who got so much attention during the Obama campaign. Ayers is all teacher in this graphic novel ode to the power and potential of his profession. Alexander-Tanner's black and white ink drawings show a classroom in full bloom with activity and learning, while Ayers's text offers pointed discussions of what's wrong with the current state of education in this country. Ayers doesn't just present critiques like the one relating to Quinn that “labeling students has become an epidemic in our schools”; he also shows the methods he uses “to develop a permanent readiness for the marvelous” in his classroom. With plenty of anecdotal examples, he demonstrates ways of opening up a child's eagerness to learn. 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. (May)

Foreword Jonathan Kozol xi

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction: Welcome to our Comic Book xiv

1 Opening Day: The Journey Begins 1

2 Seeing the Student 13

3 Creating an Environment for Learning 33

4 Building Bridges 47

5 Liberating the Curriculum 67

6 Keeping Track 81

7 The Mystery of Teaching 93

8 Commencement: Beginning Again 113

Further Readings 124

References 125

About The Authors 128