"What's So Great About Art, Anyway?": A Teacher's Odyssey

by Rachel Branham, William Ayers (Foreword)

Inviting readers to examine schools and teaching with a critical lens, this visually and conceptually captivating graphic novel advocates for arts education in schools. At the center of this work is the author’s memoir as a young high school art teacher in the public school system. Through engaging (and frequently funny) anecdotes centered on classroom life, mixed with discussions of education policy and reform, readers explore teacher/student relationships, testing and accountability, 21st-century learning, and the history and purpose of art education. Branham’s personal narrative of challenges and triumphs demonstrate why art education should be preserved as a core subject if students are to understand the connection between creativity, critical thinking, and other higher-order skills. "What's So Great About Art, Anyway?" is a refreshing book for everyone―particularly for in-service teachers―and is a smart foundational text in arts education and introduction to teaching courses. Book

Genres: Graphic Novels

144 pages, Paperback

Published August 5, 2016

Reviews

[Matthew Noe · Rating 5 out of 5]

More manifesto than memoir (as the subtitle makes it sound), this is a call for the Arts to take center stage in education. Full of education history and current policy, this is a great jumping on point for hard, important conversations about what we value and seek from public education. The illustrations drive many of the points home, but there are some moments where the page composition is hard to decipher (so this 5 is really a 4.8).

[Mariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely and concise argument for the importance of integrating art into content instruction. Nice summaries of some major topics in current education theory and history. Very effective model for students interested in presenting their work/research graphically.

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful creation this book is... It sums up a informative and dorky journey of a American Art teacher. Whose odyssey I found immensely relatable and enjoyable.
Can’t wait to be an Art Educator too.

[Beth J · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read it for an Art Education class. At first I thought the idea of a graphic novel as a textbook was hokey, but I ended up finding it quite insightful and inspiring.

[Cindy Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved that she made this treatise on art into a graphic novel. I was hoping to see more solutions and inspiring words about art, and less about the history of education and what is wrong with the current system.

[Lauryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this gem in the used section at Harvard Bookstore and it called to me, especially since it was cheaper than Lynda Barry's What It Is (one day, my friend, one day). I enjoyed the information about art and the call to action at the end and it was inspiring, I was just slightly less enthusiastic about education history I already knew. A pretty cool find, regardless!