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Teachers present at NYC Comic-Con
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October 12, 2022New York City Comic Con organizers invited several teachers from St. Benedict's Prep in Newark to participate in a discussion panel with other educators at last week’s convention in Manhattan to discuss the benefits of incorporating "geek culture" into high school classrooms.
Comic-Con is an annual fan convention that focuses on comics, anime, video games, cosplay, movies, TV, and related comic and pop culture where fans meet creators, artists, and each other.
The panel, titled "Case Studies: Building Multicultural Spaces in Schools Through the Power of Geek," featured a lively conversation about how to leverage the world of entertainment, fans, or fandom to build community with students and colleagues. Panel participants discussed how “geek culture” can be used as a socio-emotional learning tool to create safe student spaces, how teachers can develop pop-culture-centered extracurricular activities, and alternative assessments, and how administrators can support these initiatives.
The four faculty members from St. Benedict’s Prep who presented at Comic-Con on Thursday, Oct. 6 included Michelle Tuorto-Collins, who teaches meteorology and environmental science; Ivan Lamourt who teaches psychology and serves as School Psychologist; Jim Duffy, who teaches Ancient Roman and Medieval History and serves as Dean of the Middle Division; and Rich Molina, who teaches physics and coaches fencing.
Tuorto-Collins said that by sharing her passion for "geek culture" with students, she has connected with them on a more personal level. She said that teachers at St. Benedict's Prep incorporate pop culture into the curriculum using graphic novels, or books made up of comics, and alternative assessment techniques that utilize digital media. Alternative assessment is a method of evaluation to measure a student’s level of proficiency or progress that is different from traditional assessment methods.“We had a nice turnout of educators and librarians who came to hear us talk about leveraging the ‘power of geek’ in the classroom," said Michelle Tuorto-Collins, Associate Headmaster for Academics and a science teacher at St. Benedict's Prep.
According to Tuorto-Collins, incorporating pop culture into the classroom is about connecting what the students learn at school to the modern world. She presented this concept during the panel discussion. “I spoke about using digital platforms, such as podcasts and YouTube shorts, as alternative assessment methods for students," she said.
Tuorto-Collins added that there are also plenty of opportunities to incorporate "geek culture" in cross-curricular instruction. As an example, she explained how St. Benedict's Prep art teacher, Pamela Wye-Hunsinger, incorporates literacy and vocabulary practice into her classroom by having students create graphic novels in art class.
According to Tuorto-Collins, St. Benedict's encourages its teachers to find new and creative ways to connect with students on a personal and academic level. "Our goal with our teachers is creativity and responsiveness to the students in front of them," Tuorto-Collins said. "If it is appropriate and serves their classes' goals, we encourage teachers to use it."
This was the first time St. Benedict's Prep faculty have been a part of a professional program at Comic-Con. But they have been sending faculty to the convention for more than seven years, according to Tuorto-Collins. She explained that the New York City Public Library annually pays for a handful of St. Benedict’s educators to attend the convention's Professional's Day for free.
While Comic Con will not return until next year, Tuorto-Collins said the faculty of St. Benedict's Prep and the audience members they connected with on their panel will continue to stay in touch via email to share ideas, methodology, and news throughout the school year.
Newark’s St. Benedict’s Prep faculty members, (left to right) Jim Duffy, Michelle Tuorto-Collins, Dr. Ivan Lamourt, and moderator Rich Molina, participated in a Comic-Con panel discussion recently on incorporating "geek culture" into high school classrooms.
Featured image: (St. Benedict's Prep)
