2015; My Year in Reading

I found myself making a lot more time for reading in 2015. In full disclosure, a large percentage of these books were graphic novels, but in my defence I'm an English teacher and we teach that literacy is multi-modal and beyond notions of high and low culture - so it's all reading, baby.

Here's the BIG LIST of 81 books.

Is History Fiction? by Ann Curthoys and John Docker

I read this on recommendation from my principal, Lisette Gorick, as I was teaching History Extension for the first time about a year ago. It turned out to be a brilliant way into historiography for my students, with an accessible overview of many of the controversies that pepper the discipline of History. 

Sex Criminals (Volume 1) by Matt Fraction and Chip Zadarsky
Rocket Girl (Volume 1) by Brandon Montclare and Amy Reeder
Dragon in the Land of Snows by Tsering Shakya

 
Little White Duck by Na Liu and Andrew Vera Martinez
This relatively short graphic novel is both memoir and history lesson, giving a child's perspective of China's Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and '70s. We've used extracts from it at my school for both Year 10 History and Senior Standard English. I think the text in its entirety would make a great Asian Perspective study for either Stage 4 or 5 English.

The Aztec Empire by Shannon, Beevor and Miles
Saga (Volume 1) by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
Saga (Volume 2) by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

The Conquest of Mexico by Hugh Thomas 

Another text I read in preparation for teaching History Extension. This massive 700+ page chronicle gives an exhaustive and lively account of the conquistador Cortes' devastating campaign through 16th Century Mexico. I read a few history books about the conquest/colonisation/disovery of Mexico after this but Thomas' version probably remains my go-to narrative about what happened in the New World when Cortes met the Aztecs. A very readable history book.

Saga (Volume 3) by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
The Conquistadors by Innes Hammond
A Brief History of Mexico by Lynn V. Foster
V For Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
Billed as the 'Australian To Kill a Mockingbird', Craig Silvey's tour de force young adult novel encapsulates so much about Australian identity and its more problematic nuances that it's hard not to consider it even more relevant that Harper Lee's iconic work. I read this so I could teach it to Year 10 in 2015, and it turned out to be a really engaging choice of class text, with lots of discussion from the students.

Tenochtitlan by Samuel Willard Crompton
Empire of the Aztecs by Barbara A. Sommerville
A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies by Bartoleme de las Casas
Doctor Who: The Hunters of the Burning Stone by Tom Spilsbury and Scott Gray

Safari Honeymoon by Jesse Jacobs

I loved this little graphic novel immensely. It's written and illustrated by one of the animators behind Adventure Time but is (unbelievably) even more twisted and surreal than the cult TV series. 

Batman: The Man Who Laughs by Ed Brubaker and Doug Mahnke
Pachyderme by Frederick Peeters
Saga (Volume 4) by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Chew (Volume 1) by John Layman and Rob Guillory

Lots of people talk DC vs. Marvel when it comes to comics but I found myself increasingly drawn to the Image branding in 2015 with more askew and self-contained titles like Chew. This police procedural action-comedy follows the investigations of Tony Chu, a Cibopath (someone who can tell the personal history of something by eating it) who works for the Food and Drug Administration. Fun and tasty.

Gifted and Talented by Gary A. Davis and Sylvia B. Rimm
Y The Last Man (Volume 1) by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra
Awkward and Definition by Ariel Schrag
In Real Life by Cory Doctorow and Jen Wan
Sex Criminals (Volume 2) by Matt Fraction and Chip Zadarsky
Chew (Volume 2) by John Layman and Rob Guillory

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
Yep, I finally gave in and started reading the books. And they're really good. So there you go.
 
Y The Last Man (Volume 2) by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra
Potential by Ariel Schrag
Y The Last Man (Volume 3) by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra
Doctor Who: The Cruel Sea by Scott Gray and Gareth Roberts
A Body Beneath by Michael DeForge

Aama (Volume 1) by Frederick Peeters
I fell in love with this ambitious French sci-fi comic almost immediately. The imagery is arresting and slightly disturbing, and there's something unmistakenly European about it that I can't quite put my finger on. 

Assessment of Giftedness by Julie Lamb Milligen
Maus by Art Spielgelman
Aama (Volume 2) by Frederick Peeters
Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
 

Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann

The title is very apt. I avoided this graphic novel for a while because I'm kind of over all of that bubblegum-gothic fairy-tale stuff that Tim Burton has spun into millions of dollars, but I shouldn't have been so discriminatory. This comic is fantastically cute and dark without falling prey to cliche or  bland familiarity.

Y The Last Man (Volume 4) by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra
Chew (Volume 3) by John Layman and Rob Guillory

Daytripper by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba
Divergent by Veronica Roth

Superfreakonomics by Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt
I love this stuff. Fascinating use of economic theory and statistical analysis to shine a light on just about everything. 

Looking for Alaska by John Green
A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow by George R. R. Martin
Aama (Volume 3) by Frederick Peeters

Revival (Volume 1) by Tim Seeley and Mike Norton
Rural noir meets the undead in this tightly-plotted small town horror-drama. Vivid imagery and memorably complex characters. I read the first 5 volumes in quick succession and can't wait to read the rest.

The Madness of Cambyses by Herodotus
Blue by Pat Grant
The Rainbow Orchid by Garen Ewing
Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Blankets by Craig Thompson

I'm late to the party on this one but I couldn't immerse myself in the world of comics in 2015 without looking at some of the 'canon' titles. A lot has been written about Blankets over the years so there's not much I can really say that hasn't already been said other than that I found it startlingly beautiful and affecting. 

Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley
A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold by George R. R. Martin
Allegiant by Veronica Roth
Sex (Volume 1) by Joe Casey

Tibet, Tibet by Patrick French

I read this while researching a Modern History unit on Tibet and found it really interesting. Journalist Patrick French smuggled himself into Tibet to get closer to the country's troubled history and manages to expose some of China's more outrageous and shocking Tibetan policies.

Mao and the Chinese Revolution by Yves Chevrier
The Pearl by John Steinbeck
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Heminway
Y The Last Man (Volume 5) by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra

Building Stories by Chris Ware

If I had to pick a 'best' read of the last year I would, without a doubt, pick this genre and medium-defying 'comic' Building Stories. It's broken up into many parts in several different formats, which are kept in a box and can be read in any order. I interpreted the guide on the back of the box as instructions that indicated where in the house each part should be read (EG. This part in the lounge room, this one while standing at your kitchen bench, etc). As a result, it was a unique reading experience. It also helped that I found the narrative to be thought-provoking, compelling and emotionally gutting. Really worth checking out!

A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin 
Saga (Volume 5) by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
Chew (Volume 5) by John Layman and Rob Guillory
Revival (Volume 2) by Tim Seeley and Mike Norton
Revival (Volume 3) by Tim Seeley and Mike Norton

Is Everybody Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
Kaling was hilarious in The Office, and has managed to defy several of the more despicable and conservative conventions of the American sitcom in her own show, The Mindy Project. Like her TV work, this memoir is equal parts hilarious and intelligent.

The Bolshevik Revolution (Volume 2) by E. H. Carr
Likewise by Ariel Schrag
Revival (Volume 4) by Tim Seeley and Mike Norton
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Stalin and Kruschew: The USSR, 1924-64 by Michael Lynch

The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil by Stephen Collins
A brilliantly unique, one-of-a-kind fable about modern life and conformity. This graphic novel would be a great English text for a number of modes and grades.

Doctor Who: The Blood of Azrael by Scott Gray and Mike CollinsThe Killing of History by Keith Windschuttle
Revival (Volume 5) by Tim Seeley and Mike Norton
Chew (Volume 5) by John Layman and Rob Guillory

And that's it. Phew! 'Twas a good year. Roll on 2016. 

Socratic Circles in the Classroom

Socratic Circle configuration

Back in 2009, when Susan Boyle had the biggest selling album in the world and Australia was 4 Prime Ministers younger, I was undertaking my Master of Teaching and learning about all the ways I could engage students in their learning. A lot of this stuff was particular to my English method but one thing that transcended the subject area was Socratic Seminars.

The Socratic Seminar is a social method of teaching in which discussion and listening are used to prompt students in their critical engagement with a text or issue. Back at university I didn't really want to sit in on this activity and argue with a bunch of strangers, but it actually turned out to be a really useful way to articulate ideas and had just the right amount of structure to keep things civilised and relevant.

I filed this lesson away and didn't really think about it for a few years. I learned how to teach and had a great journey in discovering my vocation as an educator (that's a whole other story) but during those beginning years I always remembered the circles used in the Socratic Seminar. I remembered how different it was to structure a discussion in this way, but I wasn't game to try it in a classroom. As any teacher knows, those first few years of teaching are mostly about behaviour management. I tried plenty of new ideas (technically, everything was new to me at that point) but I held off on some of the more experimental things whilst I built up my organisation and administration skills.

Fast-forward to 2015, and by this point I'm making it a thing to always try something completely new with each class every term. For my Year 10 English class in Term 2 I decided it was time to introduce the Socratic Circles. I will note at this point that my current Year 10 class is impeccably behaved (thus why I was game to give the circles a try with this particular class).

I picked last period on a Thursday, when I knew the kids would be tired and not all that enthused about writing, and had them walk into a reconfigured room where all the chairs were arranged into two concentric circles. Here's how the lesson ran:

1. Half of the class are instructed to sit in the middle circle, whilst the other half sit in the outer circle.

2. I introduce a question, in this case it was: To what extent was Lady Macbeth to blame for the events in Shakespeare's Macbeth?

3. The inner circle are told to give each other their views. The outer circle's job is to listen only; they are forbidden to speak or interact.

4. After some time has passed, the circles are swapped and the discussion is allowed to continue. Only the inner circle may speak.

5. This process is repeated as many times as the arguments allow for, and new questions can be introduced by the teacher at any point.

The teacher's job is to moderate the circles and judge when a question has run out of steam. I was lucky with the Macbeth question because my students really ran with it and spent a whole 40 minutes passionately arguing about it. It helped that the question itself is something that scholars have argued over for hundreds of years, and the newness of the activity probably had something to do with the enthusiasm of the students but, suffice to say, it was a hit with my kids.

Since then, I've had Socratic Circle lessons with this class about twice a term. I think it works really well for a number of reason:

• Not all students do their best work in the form of writing. By giving students the opportunity to demonstrate their learning in alternative ways, it empowers those with speaking skills.
• Also, as any English teacher knows, the mode of Listening is one of the key areas that we have to assess on from Grades 7-12. Aside from asking students to answer comprehension questions about audio texts, or having students interview each other, there are precious few other ways to involve listening as a primary skill in an activity without it feeling tokenistic. The role of the outer circle in Socratic Seminars is therefore quite a useful way for students to practice the skill of gathering information through active listening.
• Even the best students get tired of reading or writing all the time. The use of a Socratic Seminar as a way to build critical engagement is often something that many students will gladly get on board on with.
• Probably most important of all is the fact that all students need to speak in this activity. I've observed many of my shyest students passionately defend a viewpoint in the inner circle, feeling more comfortable about speaking in this half-class environment than a regular whole class setup. 
• I think it also helps if the teacher is not involved in the discussion beyond the odd interjected question, as it forces the students to take control and move their own thoughts to centrestage.

During Term 3, I used the Socratic Seminar to have Year 10 grapple with several questions related to the text Jasper Jones, especially in regards to the roles of sport and intellectualism in Australian culture. Some of the ideas the students discussed were incredibly sophisticated and insightful, and I have no doubt in my mind that this assisted them with their essay responses later in the term.

More recently I also opened the circles up to a range of current affairs to help broaden the argumentation and elaboration skills of the students. Some of the questions I threw into the circle were:

- Is Australia's policy to 'stop the boats' fair?

- What makes someone Australian?

- Has technology changed society for better or worse?

- Why are movies better than books?

And here are some choice snippets I quickly jotted down from the discussions that ensued.

"Don't you think that everyone in the world should get access to better health before we get a new iPhone?" - Rory

"Movies aren't better than books because they're a group activity; you don't get to have your imagination of what is happening" - Elleece

"We're the last generation of sanity" - Mel (on iPhones becoming too invasive)

"Using computers to research things dumbs down our ability to use books for the same purpose" - Kodee

"You don't have a certificate to say you're human or a person, so why should you have one to say you're Australian?" - Elleece

Next year, if I get the chance to continue using the circles, I plan to have the outer circle start making notes to help them focus on the inner circle's discussion a bit more. This can hopefully be built into lessons as a way to generate ideas and continue fostering a healthy atmosphere of open discussion that's focused on curriculum.