American Teacher magazine asked for a series of illustrations for a feature about the dynamics of students asking for help in the classroom. Turns out the students who were the squeakiest wheels were the ones who received more attention. This a problem for students who are reluctant to ask for help so the study was designed to help teachers identify those students.
AD Michelle Furman mentioned there is a racial and cultural component at play with some students who do not ask for help which is why they called. My characters can be non racial without looking forced and my solution of many of the illustrations were students who were drawn with a simple line against backgrounds. Not only did this solve the problem of race, it also caught the idea that students can be less visible to the teacher at times.
Much thanks to Michelle for the project.
