Comics belong in the classroom | Gene Luen Yang

翻译人员: Junyi Sha 校对人员: jacks peng

When I was in the fifth grade,

当我上五年级的时候，

I bought an issue of "DC Comics Presents #57"

我在我当地的书店里买了一本

off of a spinner rack at my local bookstore,

“DC Comics Presents”系列57话，

and that comic book changed my life.

那本书改变了我的人生。

The combination of words and pictures did something inside my head

那些文字和图片在我的脑海里 打下深深的烙印，

that had never been done before,

and I immediately fell in love with the medium of comics.

我在那时爱上了漫画。

I became a voracious comic book reader,

我成为了一个狂热的漫画读者，

但是我从未把它们带到学校去过。

but I never brought them to school.

Instinctively, I knew that comic books didn't belong in the classroom.

我有一种直觉，漫画书不属于课堂。

My parents definitely were not fans,

我的父母都不是漫画的粉丝，

可以肯定的是，我的老师们也不是。

and I was certain that my teachers wouldn't be either.

After all, they never used them to teach,

总而言之，他们从未使用漫画书来教学，

comic books and graphic novels were never allowed during silent sustained reading,

在静读课上漫画书 和视觉文学都是不被允许的。

and they were never sold at our annual book fair.

它们也不会出现在每年的书展上。

Even so, I kept reading comics,

即便如此，我坚持阅读漫画，

and I even started making them.

我甚至开始自己创作。

Eventually I became a published cartoonist,

最终，我成为了一个出版漫画家，

writing and drawing comic books for a living.

通过写作和绘画漫画为生。

I also became a high school teacher.

我也成为了一名高中老师。

This is where I taught:

这是我教书的地方：

Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, California.

加州奥克兰的O'Dowd天主教高中。

I taught a little bit of math and a little bit of art,

我教一点数学，一点艺术，

but mostly computer science,

大部分时间教计算机，

我在那儿工作了17年了。

and I was there for 17 years.

When I was a brand new teacher,

当我还是一名新老师的时候，

I tried bringing comic books into my classroom.

我试图将漫画书带进我的课堂。

I remember telling my students on the first day of every class

我记得我会在上课第一天 告诉我的学生们

that I was also a cartoonist.

我也是一名漫画家。

It wasn't so much that I was planning to teach them with comics,

我计划用漫画进行教学并不是重点，

it was more that I was hoping comics would make them think that I was cool.

重点是这样做会显得我很酷。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I was wrong.

但是我错了。

This was the '90s,

那时是90年代，

so comic books didn't have the cultural cachet that they do today.

所以说漫画书并没有 像是当代那种漫画文化。

My students didn't think I was cool. They thought I was kind of a dork.

我的学生并没有因此觉得我很酷， 他们觉得我很蠢。

And even worse, when stuff got hard in my class,

更糟糕的是，教学变得很难。

他们会用漫画书来捣乱我的教学，

they would use comic books as a way of distracting me.

They would raise their hands and ask me questions like,

他们会举手并提问我问题，像是：

"Mr. Yang, who do you think would win in a fight,

“杨老师，您觉得要是打一场谁会赢，

Superman or the Hulk?"

超人还是浩克？”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I very quickly realized I had to keep my teaching and my cartooning separate.

我很快就意识到，我必须 要把我的教学和漫画区分开来，

It seemed like my instincts in fifth grade were correct.

就好似我五年级时候的直觉是正确的。

Comic books didn't belong in the classroom.

漫画书不属于课堂。

But again, I was wrong.

但又一次的，我错了。

A few years into my teaching career,

我开始教学后的几年当中，

I learned firsthand the educational potential of comics.

我亲自体会了漫画教学的潜力。

One semester, I was asked to sub for this Algebra 2 class.

有一个学期，我被安排 代上了一节代数2的课。

I was asked to long-term sub it, and I said yes, but there was a problem.

他们让我长期上这门课， 我也同意了，但是出现了一个问题。

At the time, I was also the school's educational technologist,

在那时，我也是学校的教育技术人员，

which meant every couple of weeks

这也就意味着每隔几周，

I had to miss one or two periods of this Algebra 2 class

我就必定要错过一两节代数2的课，

because I was in another classroom helping another teacher

因为我可能要 在另外一个教室帮助其他老师

with a computer-related activity.

从事电脑相关的活动。

For these Algebra 2 students, that was terrible.

这对于上代数2的学生来说 是极其糟糕的。

I mean, having a long-term sub is bad enough,

我的意思是，长期代课就会很糟。

but having a sub for your sub? That's the worst.

代课再找人代课 那就是最糟糕的情况了。

In an effort to provide some sort of consistency for my students,

为了能帮助我的学生们 找到一定的连续感，

I began videotaping myself giving lectures.

我开始给上课的自己录像，

I'd then give these videos to my sub to play for my students.

然后我将这些视频交给 我的代课老师，让他们播放视频。

I tried to make these videos as engaging as possible.

我尽可能的让视频课变得有趣。

I even included these little special effects.

我还专门加了些小特效。

For instance, after I finished a problem on the board,

比如说，在我在黑板上 解释完一道题目之后，

I'd clap my hands,

我就会一鼓掌，

and the board would magically erase.

然后黑板上的字就会魔术般的消失。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I thought it was pretty awesome.

我认为那还挺神奇的，

I was pretty certain that my students would love it,

我很确定我的学生们会很喜欢的，

但是我又错了。

but I was wrong.

(Laughter)

（笑声）

These video lectures were a disaster.

视频讲座就是一场灾难。

I had students coming up to me and saying things like,

我有学生来找我，然后这样说：

“杨老师，我们觉得您挺无聊的，

"Mr. Yang, we thought you were boring in person,

but on video, you are just unbearable."

但是视频上，那就真的是不能忍了。“

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So as a desperate second attempt, I began drawing these lectures as comics.

所以作为一个绝望的第二次尝试， 我开始把我的讲座画成漫画。

I'd do these very quickly with very little planning.

我在很短的时间里 也没有过多的计划，

I'd just take a sharpie, draw one panel after the other,

我就是找了只记号笔 一个一个板子的画，

figuring out what I wanted to say as I went.

一边想一边写。

These comics lectures would come out

这些漫画式的讲座一般都会是

to anywhere between four and six pages long,

四到六页纸的长度。

I'd xerox these, give them to my sub to hand to my students.

我会复印这些，并把它们给我的 代课老师来分发给我的学生们。

And much to my surprise,

让我吃惊的是，

these comics lectures were a hit.

这些漫画讲堂十分受欢迎。

My students would ask me to make these for them

即使当我在的时候，

even when I could be there in person.

我的学生也会要求我 为他们制作这些漫画，

It was like they liked cartoon me more than actual me.

就好像比起真人，他们还是 更喜欢漫画中的我。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

This surprised me, because my students are part of a generation

这样我很震惊，因为我的这一代学生，

that was raised on screens,

他们是看着银屏长大的。

so I thought for sure they would like learning from a screen

所以我就想当然，相比纸质材料，

better than learning from a page.

他们一定能够从银幕上学的更好。

But when I talked to my students

但是当我与我的学生交流时，

about why they liked these comics lectures so much,

问及他们为何如此喜欢这些漫画讲堂，

我就开始意识到漫画的教育潜力了。

I began to understand the educational potential of comics.

First, unlike their math textbooks,

首先，不同于数学课本，

这些漫画讲堂是一种视觉形式。

these comics lectures taught visually.

Our students grow up in a visual culture,

我们的孩子在一个视觉文化中长大，

so they're used to taking in information that way.

所以他们习惯于以这种方式接受信息，

But unlike other visual narratives,

但是又不同于其他视觉形式。

像是影片，电视或者是动漫，视频，

like film or television or animation or video,

comics are what I call permanent.

漫画书，让我说，就是永恒的。

In a comic, past, present and future all sit side by side on the same page.

在漫画当中，过去、现在和未来 都可以并排出现在同一页当中，

This means that the rate of information flow

这就意味着信息接受的速度，

is firmly in the hands of the reader.

完全是由读者掌控的。

When my students didn't understand something in my comics lecture,

当我的学生不理解 我漫画讲堂中的内容时，

they could just reread that passage as quickly or as slowly as they needed.

他们可以根据需求快速的或是 缓慢的重新阅读那部分文段，

It was like I was giving them a remote control over the information.

这就像是我给他们提供了远程的 信息操作能力一样。

The same was not true of my video lectures,

但是我的视频课就不是这样了，

and it wasn't even true of my in-person lectures.

甚至是我的真人课也无法做到这一点。

When I speak, I deliver the information as quickly or slowly as I want.

当我说话的时候，传递信息的快慢 是由我自身决定的。

So for certain students and certain kinds of information,

所以，对于某些学生和特定的信息，

these two aspects of the comics medium, its visual nature and its permanence,

漫画所具有的两种特质： 视觉效果和持续性，

make it an incredibly powerful educational tool.

让它成为了一个异常强大的教育工具。

When I was teaching this Algebra 2 class,

当我教授这门代数2的课的时候，

I was also working on my master's in education at Cal State East Bay.

我也同时在加州州立大学东湾分校 攻读我的教育学硕士学位。

And I was so intrigued by this experience that I had with these comics lectures

因为这个经历 我被这种漫画课堂的形式深深吸引，

that I decided to focus my final master's project on comics.

最终决定在研究生毕业项目中 专注于漫画。

I wanted to figure out why American educators

我想要知道为什么历史上，

have historically been so reluctant to use comic books in their classrooms.

美国的教育者们总是不情愿 在他们的课堂上使用漫画。

这就是我所发现的。

Here's what I discovered.

Comic books first became a mass medium in the 1940s,

漫画书最先普及于上世纪40年代，

with millions of copies selling every month,

每月都有几百万份的复印本售出，

and educators back then took notice.

当时的教育者们就注意到了这点，

A lot of innovative teachers began bringing comics into their classrooms

很多具有创新精神的老师 都将漫画书实验性的

to experiment.

带进了他们的课堂。

In 1944, the "Journal of Educational Sociology"

在1944年，《教育社会学周刊》

even devoted an entire issue to this topic.

甚至为这个话题出了专栏，

Things seemed to be progressing.

事情似乎在进步着，

Teachers were starting to figure things out.

教师们开始悟出一些道理。

But then along comes this guy.

但是随后，出现了这样一个人，

This is child psychologist Dr. Fredric Wertham,

儿童心理学家，弗雷德里克·魏特汉。

and in 1954, he wrote a book called "Seduction of the Innocent,"

在1954年出了一本书 叫做《对纯真的诱惑》。

where he argues that comic books cause juvenile delinquency.

在其中他辩及了漫画书 会导致青少年犯罪。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

他错了，

He was wrong.

Now, Dr. Wertham was actually a pretty decent guy.

事实上，维特汉博士 其实是个不错的人，

他大半生都在从事 和青少年犯罪相关的事业。

He spent most of his career working with juvenile delinquents,

and in his work he noticed that most of his clients read comic books.

在他的工作中，他注意到了 他大部分的客户都读漫画书。

What Dr. Wertham failed to realize was in the 1940s and '50s,

但是维特汉博士错在在四五十年代，

almost every kid in America read comic books.

几乎每个美国孩子都读漫画书。

Dr. Wertham does a pretty dubious job of proving his case,

维特汉博士的论证工作令人怀疑，

but his book does inspire the Senate of the United States

但是他的书的确给了美国参议院灵感，

举办了一系列的听证会

to hold a series of hearings

to see if in fact comic books caused juvenile delinquency.

来研究是否漫画会导致青少年犯罪。

These hearings lasted for almost two months.

这些听证会持续了将近两个月。

They ended inconclusively, but not before doing tremendous damage

他们就不了了之了，但是这也 已经对于美国大众眼中

漫画书的形象造成了巨大的伤害。

to the reputation of comic books in the eyes of the American public.

After this, respectable American educators all backed away,

在此之后，著名的 美国教育家们就都不干了。

and they stayed away for decades.

他们躲了几十年。

It wasn't until the 1970s

直到1970年，

that a few brave souls started making their way back in.

几个勇敢的人开始重新使用漫画，

And it really wasn't until pretty recently,

但是真正的尝试也是直到最近，

maybe the last decade or so,

也许是最近10年这样，

that comics have seen more widespread acceptance

漫画书终于在美国教育家之中

among American educators.

得到了更加广泛的认同。

Comic books and graphic novels are now finally making their way

漫画书和视觉文学现在终于重新进入了

美国的教室当中。

back into American classrooms

and this is even happening at Bishop O'Dowd, where I used to teach.

转变甚至发生在了O'Dowd天主教学校， 就是我曾经工作的学校。

Mr. Smith, one of my former colleagues,

史密斯先生，我以前的一个同事，

uses Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics"

使用了斯科特·麦克劳德的 《理解连环漫画》，

in his literature and film class, because that book gives his students

在他的文学和影视课上。 因为那本书提供了

the language with which to discuss the relationship between words and images.

帮助学生讨论文字 与图像关系的词汇和表达。

Mr. Burns assigns a comics essay to his students every year.

伯恩斯先生则是每年都布置一篇 漫画论文给他的学生。

By asking his students to process a prose novel using images,

他要求他的学生们用图像 来解读诗和散文。

Mr. Burns asks them to think deeply

伯恩斯先生要求他们深入思考，

not just about the story

不仅仅是关于故事，

but also about how that story is told.

也是关于故事的叙述方法。

And Ms. Murrock uses my own "American Born Chinese"

莫洛克小姐则是借鉴了我的ABC的情况

with her English 1 students.

来教导她英语1的学生。

For her, graphic novels

举个例子，视觉文学，

are a great way of fulfilling a Common Core Standard.

在很大程度上满足了“共同核心标准”，

The Standard states that students ought to be able to analyze

标准提出学生应该能够分析出

how visual elements contribute to the meaning, tone and beauty of a text.

视觉因素是如何帮助理解 文章的深意，语气和唯美感。

Over in the library, Ms. Counts has built a pretty impressive

在图书馆中，康茨女士更是 为O'Dowd天主高中

建了一个很大的视觉阅读区。

graphic novel collection for Bishop O'Dowd.

Now, Ms. Counts and all of her librarian colleagues

现在，康茨女士和她的 所有的图书馆同事们

have really been at the forefront of comics advocacy,

都已经在漫画宣传的前沿了。

really since the early '80s, when a school library journal article

特别是在80年代早期 学校图书周刊一篇文章指出

stated that the mere presence of graphic novels in the library

仅仅是视觉文学在图书馆的出现，

increased usage by about 80 percent

就增加了图书馆近八成的使用量，

and increased the circulation of noncomics material

同时也增加了非漫画书籍流动量，

by about 30 percent.

。

Inspired by this renewed interest from American educators,

受到了美国教育家们 对于漫画新一轮的认识，

American cartoonists are now producing more explicitly educational content

美国漫画家们已经开始越来越明显的 将带有教育意义的漫画

for the K-12 market than ever before.

投入12岁以下儿童市场，

A lot of this is directed at language arts,

大部分的是针对语言艺术学科的，

but more and more comics and graphic novels

但是越来越多的漫画和视觉文学，

are starting to tackle math and science topics.

也开始进入数学和科学领域。

STEM comics graphics novels really are like this uncharted territory,

STEM领域的视觉艺术 就仿佛一面未知领土，

ready to be explored.

有待探索。

America is finally waking up to the fact

美国终于觉醒了，

意识到漫画书 是不会导致青少年犯罪的。

that comic books do not cause juvenile delinquency.

(Laughter)

（笑声）

That they really do belong in every educator's toolkit.

它们确实应该被放在 所有教育工作者的工具箱中，

There's no good reason to keep comic books and graphic novels

把漫画书和视觉文学 从12岁以下儿童教育中拿走

out of K-12 education.

是不合理的。

They teach visually,

它们做到了视觉教学，

给了我们的学生们远程控制。

they give our students that remote control.

The educational potential is there

教育的潜力就在那里，

just waiting to be tapped

就等着在坐的富有创造力的你们

by creative people like you.

去揭晓了。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）