Huss 1 Courtney Huss Megan Keaton English 112-15 2 May 2013 Visual Analysis

The topic that will be presented in this visual analysis is how should teachers be evaluated? There are two sides that one may think of when contemplating this topic. The first side is that teachers are being evaluated based off of their students success in the classroom. If the student makes an A then the teacher is rewarded an A on an evaluation. The second side of this topic is teachers are being evaluated by taking a test on their own. This causes the teacher to have to prove and earn an evaluation grade. The first comic that will be discussed portrays the side of the topic where teachers are being evaluated based upon a students success in the classroom. This comic displays white, black, and yellow walls in the background, along with white plain floors. The background colors are very plain due to the fact that the illustrator does not want any distraction from the main idea of this comic. There is a bright yellow sign on the white part of the wall in the background. The sign includes the words THE JOY OF LEARNING written in black. By the illustrator displaying a yellow sign it can represent a bright happy classroom because yellow is usually judged as a very radiant and positive color; along with using the words joy of learning he is saying that this classroom environment is fun and happy. This comic includes four desks that are in a row because the comic has a classroom setting so the desk portrays a classrooms average layout. There are three adults and one child

Huss 2 included. There is a middle age woman wearing a black skirt with a white shirt and blue pull over, holding a clipboard. The abbreviation VA. is written on the clipboard that this woman is holding. The illustrator is making us aware that she is a vice administrator. The VA. is standing on one of the desk in the very back of the row. The VA. is sweating and has a very obvious facial expression that makes viewers aware that she is distressed . In this comic she is saying to an administrator standing in front of her No biggie, but if he misses problem 9, well pull your accreditation and youll bring shame on your community The illustrator included this quote in order for viewers to be able to understand the full concept of why this woman is included in this comic. By the VA. saying the words no biggie it is suggesting that the woman is trying not to make an inappropriate response to an indeed serious situation . Then she says well pull your accreditation and youll bring shame on your community she is suggesting how serious the situation is and how important it is for their student to get question number nine right. The person standing in front of the vice administrator is an older middle aged man wearing glasses. He has on a blue shirt with an orange and yellow stripped tie and black pants. On his blue shirt he has the letters Admin written on the lower side. This is suggesting that he is the administrator. This man is also sweating and has a worried and stressed look on his face. He is also standing on a desk in front of the VA. without much space in between them. The illustrator did not put any space in between them because he is displaying how important the situation is. He is also implying that each individual in the picture has counting on them by pressing the importance of the student passing onto them. The illustrator portrays this man saying No pressure, but if he misses problem 9, youre out of a teaching job!! to a teacher standing in front of him. These words are included because he is once again trying not to make

Huss 3 the situation a big deal by saying No pressure but makes the teacher in front of him aware of the consequences she will face if her student does not answer this question correct. The teacher in this comic is standing on a desk behind the student and in front of the administrator with once again little space in between them. This is implying that the teacher has others counting on her student and has someone almost on her back making sure she understands the importance of it. She is a younger woman wearing a pink shirt and blue skirt. She also has an obvious facial expression that shows how scared and stressed she is and is sweating uncontrollably. The illustrator has the teacher saying David, its problem 9! You know problem 9! Relax! Relax! to the student sitting in front of her. The illustrator is demonstrating how the teacher is pressuring the student to succeed. The teacher is being evaluated upon the student passing or failing. This will determine her position as a teacher. The student in this picture is sitting in front of the teacher and is sitting in a desk. The student is an average little boy with blonde hair and a green shirt. He looks stressed and scared and his eyes are very wide portraying these feelings. He is holding a pencil and taking a test on a white sheet of paper. On this piece of paper is says SOL which means standards of learning. The illustrator may have used the term SOL on the students piece of paper because there are multiple meanings a viewer can interpret from this. This term can also mean the student is out of luck, which also goes along with this comic. The illustrator is suggesting that because the student is so pressured because his teachers job depends on him he cannot complete or pass his test. This comic has a pathos persuasive appeal because it relates to emotion of anyone who is or has been a student and understands the pressure that comes along with being a student. There is pressure to want to individually succeed and there is also pressure of wanting to succeed for

Huss 4 others such as teachers, peers, and family. This also relates to anyone who is a teacher or administrator and understands that the lack of a students success come with major consequences. The main argument of this comic is that the consequences of a students lack of success can affect more than just the student himself. The comic portrays the teacher putting stress on the student because her job depends on him. In some cases she is being evaluated based off the students passing or failing of a test. By the illustrator including the VA. and administrator in this illustration he is showing how others can put major stress and worry on the student and teacher. The second comic that displays the second side of the topic is a comic about a teacher that is given an evaluation test by a student. This comic consists of a very dull background. The colors used in the comic are different shades of grey. The walls in the background are also very plain and empty. The illustrator used the color grey because it is very plain and is not a distracting color, allowing the topic illustrated to get straight to the point. The teacher displayed in this comic is sitting at a normal sized desk. She has short curly hair and is wearing a long sleeve shirt. The teacher is holding a couple pieces of paper that have the words Teacher Eval on them. She is holding the evaluation test because it is being given to her by a student. The illustrator displays the teacher with a frown on her face and her eyebrows almost drooped down, this is suggesting the teacher is confused and unhappy. By this the illustrator is suggesting that the teacher is confused and unsatisfied that she is being given an evaluation test by one of her students. The student portrayed in this comic is a young boy with short hair and freckles on his cheeks. The freckles on his cheeks show how young the boy really is. By displaying a young boy

Huss 5 in this comic the illustrator is suggesting that even young children are being pressured due to the fact they there are usually the ones that are determining the teachers evaluation score. He is handing the teacher a pencil and is saying to the teacher Heres a pencil good luck the illustrator is suggesting that by the young student saying this to a teacher he is treating her like he would be treated during a test that would be usually be given by his teacher. In this comic the student has a smile on his face because the illustrator wants it known that the little boy is happy that the teacher is taking the evaluation test to earn her own grade. The illustrator is portraying the boys happiness because he wants viewers to understand the importance that the teacher has to take the test now, which takes the pressure off of the young boy. This comic has a pathos persuasive appeal by demonstrating the smile and happiness of the student in this comic and the confused grumpy look of the teacher. If anyone knows how it feels to be a student or a teacher they would understand the emotion behind this comic. The main argument of this comic is that a teachers evaluation score should be based upon a test that he/she takes for themselves. The comic portrays this by showing a student who is given the opportunity to give the teacher their own evaluation test rather than the student taking the test and determining the teachers skills. This comic stresses the importance of the teacher taking the test because it is a big deal to take the stress off of the student for once. This portrays how one may think teacher evaluations should be.

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