Asylum Convention and Entertainment Services – ACES is proud to present Nicole Jobin with her panel

“Comics in the Classroom”

Comics are being used across the country to promote reading in classrooms as well as bridging the gaps in skills felt by struggling readers and avid readers alike. This panel brings together educators, comic book retailers, and avid comic book readers to discuss the need for students to delve into this media while thinking analytically and critically about global topics as well as the realization that pictures and art communicate ideas.

“About Nicole”
Growing up in Michigan in the 90s, Nicole spent her Saturday mornings watching the X-Men cartoon. This cut her proverbial comic teeth, and her love of superheroes was born. Sharing that love with her friends, she furthered her educational endeavors by majoring in Education at the University of Michigan. Her first love was reading and writing as well as educating preschool-aged children. She planned to work with early learners. As life has a way of sending us down unintended paths, she was called to teach middle school-aged English Language Learners (ELL) in Las Vegas, Nevada. Middle school was not a planned move, but she was interested in working with a diverse population. Teaching ELL students
reading and writing at a secondary age solidified that pictures could help older readers to comprehend written information just as it did for younger children. Pictorial representation helps ensure comprehension, builds vocabulary, and allows students to make sense of not just the world around them but also global and abstract topics. As the seven years in the classroom progressed, so did her
passion for teaching reading and writing to middle schoolers.
As she finished her Master’s degree in Education with her thesis in Teaching Strategies for ELLs, she was also starting a family. Looking for a slower more family-friendly area, she moved to Florida to
teach and raise her boys. It is important to teach our children reading by reading with them during their childhood. This is paramount because often children come into middle school below level in reading and with all their love of reading lost. Comics can build not just the need for pictures but bridge the gaps in
vocabulary to encourage readers to read and enjoy.
It has become a calling to put comics and graphic novels in the hands of children whether it be for choice reading to enhance their skills or to help teach the curriculum in the classroom and facilitate ideas and discussion of global issues. Comics are not just funny pages. They delve into the moral code,
deliberate on injustice and deal with emotions on multiple levels. Her first speaking engagement was alongside comic industry greats like Jon Schnepp, artist and former educator Javier Lugo and comic retailer and motivational speaker Michael Savage. Networking and collaborating with educators in the audience has been the beginning of a love of speaking with like-minded professionals that genuinely want to engage learners.