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Running Head: Ethical Leadership In Education

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Running Head: ETHICAL LEADERSHIP IN EDUCATION

Teaching Ethics and Good Morals with Comic Books and Graphic Novels

Comic books should be considered valuable resources in education because of their power to motivate students to learn. Comic books can also be used as resources to teach students about ethic and morals. Teachers who have utilized comic books or graphic novels as classroom resources have found that there is an increased level of participation in classroom activities among students which may help those teachers to motivate and instill good moral values into their students through this genre. Belk (1987), conducted a mixed (qualitative and quantitative) study to "examine what certain comic books may tell us about…show more content…
Many would consider comic books and graphic novels to be unconventional. However, many studies have proven that comic books and graphic novels can motivate students to learn almost anything. Some of the biggest comic book houses out there include Marvel, whose characters include, Spiderman, Ironman, the Hulk and Thor. DC, on the other hand are the creators of such characters of Batman and Superman. There is no denying that some of these characters are not only pop culture icons, but characters of high moral standards. These characters were created as heroes for the people. According to Wikipedia, "In modern popular fiction, a superhero (sometimes rendered super-hero or super hero) is a type of heroic character possessing extraordinary talents, supernatural phenomena, or superhuman powers and is dedicated to a moral goal or protecting the public." A student who may be experiencing bullying or some other type of problem at school, upon given the goal of creating a character either based on themselves or someone else could possibly create a character who could be someone who is uncorrupt both physically and morally. The child may be come more outgoing, more apt to be someone who will help others and help…show more content…
Artistic patterns in the comics included a "focus on the foreground," "the use of color to represent characters," and "pride in the design of their comic book covers" (p. 37). In this study and subsequent article, the author also emphasizes the power of the project, attributed to the power of art, for urban children to begin to explore and discover new ways in which to develop their creativity. In the article by Krashen (2005), the author suggests that media like graphic novels and film serve as an effective education tool in themselves and may bridge an educational gap in order to have an educational benefit. If an educator firmly believes that they can set high standards for themselves and their students in the classroom, there is no reason why they can't obtain high moral values. In studying and perhaps creating comics, teachers can help those students who struggle not only with reading and writing, but help those students who may struggle with self esteem issues. When a student is motivated, they can also help motivate others. When a teacher is motivated to help their students, they instill the same kind of values that they themselves possess. Although teachers hope that cheating, plagiarism and other unethical behaviors will just go away, most won't. However, instructors can and will influence the occurrences of unethical behaviors among their students. A deliberate and consistently conscious effort made by
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