Spider Man

More evidence that our fight is going mainstream (from a friend):

 

Just thought you might be interested in / amused by this footnote in the education wars.

 

I'm not comic book savvy, so the death last year of the original Spiderman (Peter Parker) — after 50 years — didn't hit my radar. Nor did the re-introduction of this super-hero last month. Not until I heard that the new Ultimate Spiderman was a multi-racial kid, Miles Morales, whose family was desperate to improve his educational options in NYC. Turns out that the writer of Ultimate Spiderman Issue #1 was directly influenced by Waiting for Superman.

 

The education press barely noticed, and only in anticipation, perhaps because the actual comics sold out immediately. http://gothamschools.org/2011/08/16/in-new-comic-spider-man-waits-for-superman-at-charter-lottery/    But it was cool to see that the hard core "comix geeks" loved the story and readily acknowledged — without any political angle —the cruel choice facing kids in his situation.  http://arthousegoon.com/2011/09/14/ultimate-spider-man-1the-ultimates-1/

 

Does Ultimate Spiderman suggest that this issue is resonating with a larger audience? Are there folks who will be introduced to school choice by Mile Morales?  I have no clue, Whitney, but it was fun reading a comic book again (and we've always thought our students were super-heroes.) 

 

I scanned the key pages from the comic book and posted them at: https://picasaweb.google.com/WTilson/SpiderManCharterLottery?authkey=Gv1sRgCMjv2aDZjO_E2QE.