Written by Sophia Turean, a writer.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of comics? Childish drawings, cheap gags, and maybe some crass humor. You probably don’t think “educational.” I would like to make a case for comics to be seen as educational and used as such, starting with my favorite, xkcd by Randall Munroe. 

xkcd promises to be “a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language,” and is all that and so much more. While some of Munroe’s comics are just silly, others have helped me understand larger concepts, such as the difference between precision and accuracy. These words are often used interchangeably in colloquial English, but they have different meanings. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “accuracy describes a particular measurement—that is, how close it is to the truth. But precision describes a measurement system—that is, how good it is at giving the same result every time it measures the same thing.” Confusingly enough, however, this same page lists accuracy as a synonym for precision. Acting as a counterpoint to this lengthy and contradictory description is the comic “Precision vs. Accuracy,” which wonderfully depicts, in words understandable to a layperson, the difference:

The comic’s humor only adds to its educational value. As a research paper on the effect of humor on memory found, “[h]umour has an additional benefit of having a positive effect on memory” (Tunku Badli and Dzulkifli). In other words, laughter, often lacking from classroom instruction, can actually help students retain information and recall what it is that they have learned.

Another instructional comic is The Illustrated Guide to Law, by lawyer and cartoonist Nathaniel Burney. Aimed at high schoolers and with a multitude of pages on criminal law, criminal procedure, constitutional law, and terrorism, this comic serves to make the legal system more accessible to the general public. For example, as stated concisely in this comic, merely staying silent after being read your Miranda rights is not enough; you must clearly invoke the right to remain silent. Evidently, webcomics, being both quickly accessible online and far easier to understand than wordy websites or books, provide an important way for people to inform themselves. 

This value is not limited to webcomics, as is evident from the experience of Henry M. Gunn High School teacher Terence Kitada, who created an English class called The Art of Visual Storytelling, in which all the texts are graphic novels. The elective course became a reality after Kitada noticed that some students were having trouble finding meaning in traditional, text-filled novels and decided to bring his passion for comics and teaching together. Kitada is not the only teacher who feels this way. In fact, at least one graphic novel—They Called Us Enemy by George Takei—is now required reading in all Palo Alto Unified School District middle schools. 

Even outside the English classroom, comics can be incredibly helpful. Kitada recalled his Advanced Placement Biology teacher, who would draw cartoons on the board to enhance the learning experience. He can envision “a whole textbook done in visual storytelling,” which prompted the idea that students would understand their textbooks if there were more pictures and diagrams and fewer confusingly worded sentences.

In short, comics are not lowbrow, trashy pictures. They are not a waste of time. Comics provide everyone with accessibility to a plethora of information. Comics are a great approach to education. So I invite you, find a comic or graphic novel. Read it. Enjoy it. See what you learn.