TEACH BOLDLY! ILLUSTRATIONS | musclefish-studio

THE POWER OF WATER

MARY CONCEPTUALIZED THIS DRAWING. THE CHAPTER DESCRIBES HER WATER-WEARS-AWAY-ROCK APPROACH TO TEACHING SOCIAL JUSTICE.

LOVING THE THUGS

EACH OF MY STUDENTS SPENT A SEMESTER TEACHING IN A LOCAL JUVENILE PENAL INSTITUTION. THIS COURSE WAS THE ONLY CONTACT TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY EVER MADE WITH THEM, UNDERSCORING THE FACT THAT SUCH CHILDREN ARE THE ULTIMATE "OTHER" IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.

TEACHING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

THIS TEACHER HAS GOOD INTENTIONS, BUT IS ONLY CAUSING THE CHILD TO FALL FURTHER BEHIND. THE TEACHER FIGURE IS BASED ON THE ART OF KEITH HARING.

AN ELEPHANT IN THE CLASSROOM

THIS CHAPTER DESCRIBES THE HORRORS SUFFERED BY LGBTQ STUDENTS IN OUR HOMOPHOBIC SCHOOLS. THE CURRICULUM, IRONICALLY DESCRIBED AS SAFE, IGNORES THIS ISSUE, WHICH ACCOUNTS FOR A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF TEEN SUICIDES.

UNCOVERING INTERNALIZED OPPRESSION

THIS CHAPTER OFFERS AN ACCOUNT OF A PREJUDICIAL ACT COMMITTED IN CHILDHOOD BY AN ADULT WHO NOW IS A LEADING PROPONENT OF ANTI-BIAS EDUCATION.

TRANSGRESSING BOUNDARIES

HERE WE READ THAT CHILDREN NOT ONLY SHOULD BE TAUGHT CURRICULA THAT RELATES TO THEIR LIVES; THEY SHOULD HAVE A VOICE IN WRITING THAT CURRICULA. THIS DRAWING DEPICTS THE MOVEMENT FROM THE CANNED CURRICULUM TO THE ONE THAT FREES THE STUDENTS.

TEACHING BOLDLY IN TIMID SCHOOLS

THIS ACCOUNT DESCRIBES A TEACHER'S STRUGGLE IN A SYSTEMICALLY RACIST SCHOOL. THE BADGE IS BASED ON AN IMAGE BY SHEPARD FAIREY, CREATOR OF THE ICONIC RED AND BLUE BARACK OBAMA IMAGE.

TEACHING AUTHENTICALLY

THIS ILLUSTRATION REFERS TO THE METAPHOR OF TEACHING OUTSIDE THE BOX AND LEAVING THE CANNED CURRICULUM BEHIND.

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In 2010 Mary and I published a book of letters from experienced teachers to people entering the field (New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 246 pp). I drew an illustration for each of the 23 letters. Here are my eight favorites.

dennis earl fehr M U S C L E F I S H S T U D I O