OAKVILLE, ONTARIO – Most educators spend their careers solely in the classroom with their students, assisting them with difficult material and polishing them for the following academic year. Rob Piotrowski, on the other hand, does this while he writes educational literature for young adults in a medium that lures them to read and learn without realizing it.
Rob is an English and English as a Second Language teacher at the secondary level with the Halton Catholic District School Board, and he’s also been a freelance writer for the past seventeen years. His freelance work has been contracted by Marvel along with the many graphic novels he has written for Rubicon Publishing. His past credits in the magazine industry include publications like Crow Toes Quarterly and On Spec. It’s clear that Rob has an abundance of talent and a passion for literacy. For Rubicon, Rob has written graphic novels such as “Banana Ninja” as well as “Rock ‘n’ Roll” and “Warriors” for the BOLDPRINT series.
Rob is an advocate for using graphic novels and readers in the classroom. While discussing what graphic novels offer students that traditional texts lack, Rob notes “communication in today’s world relies heavily on visuals. We’re much more reliant on visual communication than when we were a generation ago, arguably then we were a year ago. As a teacher, I feel my responsibility is to prepare my students for success as young people who are literate in various contexts. And in 2012 that involves being able to deconstruct and digest cues and messages through images as well as text.”
Rob believes that his experiences as a writer have greatly influenced his teaching style, and that a variety of reading materials should be provided for students. “Because writing is such a big part of my work life, not only as an educator but as a writer and editor, I always try to impress on my students the importance of the writing process,” said Rob. “I have a great respect for non-traditional texts and literacy. There’s no question that some graphic texts are modern literature. A lot of work and thought and creative energy go into those books.”
He regularly incorporates graphic novels and readers into the classroom, and the student response is astounding. “My students are always immediately excited when I hand them a graphic novel or story. I’ve never had any problems getting students to complete reading assignments when using graphic texts. Traditional texts can also be engaging of course, but because they do require more of an effort to get through, some students – particularly reluctant readers – are less likely to devour them with as much relish and immediate interest as their graphic counterparts.”
){kind=link}