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27 October 2018

Historical Fiction Graphic Novels Is The Radical New Way To Enhance Education

By Patricia Evans


The human race has a history that is as colorful as it is deathly. Heroes and villains have existed throughout, but the gritty truth behind many events is lost in translation when a student is listening to a lecturing professor. Perhaps young people could be better served if they are educated via historical fiction graphic novels.

These are basically comic books that utilize all the details historians and researchers know about certain events in history. Some details must be improvised, which is why they are regarded as fictional recollections. However, considering how our text books are written now, no amount of artists license could possible bend the truth any further than we already have.

More than novelists, however, as some of these young people grow up to create science fiction as fact. Many elements of basic physics have been woven into the stories of Marvel comics from the very beginning. As a young person begins to realize that some of this technology is actually being developed, they have a desire to be a part of that future.

If we can make the future seem so interesting to young readers, then is it such a crime to bring the same light and color to stories of the past. Many history teachers might get their feathers ruffled a bit, but their complaints really should be ignored at this point. The men and women who teach history are often as dry as winter grass themselves, and are less interesting than the classes they purport to teach.

You cannot excite a young person in any subject by forcing them to memorize names, dates, and events. These random bits of information might be retained long enough to pass an examination, but it is no real test of what they truly learned. The blood and gore gets taken out right along with the passion and bravery that is part of the story of mankind.

Even though the information should be presented in a manner that fits the age of the child, this should not mean they are educated with fanciful stories designed to make them feel like they are part of a winning team. The preposterous story of the first Thanksgiving in America is just such a story, told in a manner that insults every native person who ever died under a small-pox laden blanket.

Modern historians are becoming much more radical in their research, and they have opened wide the doors of discussion on human history. If shows like Ancient Aliens can go on for more than seven seasons, then it is a clue that our time to rethink history class has come. Rewriting the disinformation and denials that have been the forefront of education must occur.

It is not simply not knowing the past which condemns mankind to repeated patterns of behavior. You can memorize all the dates, names, battles, and events you want. If we cannot teach in a way that connects this random stream of data to where humans are now, explaining why the world is in the state that exists, then go ahead and get ready for the next Dark Age.




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