The teacher according to Quino and Tonucci: an analysis of comics

Abstract

Starting from the acknowledgement of the critical and challenging dimension of some comics and cartoons, this work has the purpose of analyzing the teacher representations found in the work Toda a Mafalda, by the Argentinean Quino, and in Through the eyes of a child, by the Italian Francesco Tonucci. We start from the concept of representation brought by Cultural Studies and studies on the teaching work and representation are also considered, especially the humor in the instruction, besides both authors´ peculiarities. The analysis of 40 cartoons and stories by Tonucci, and of 66 comic strips by Quino, in which the teacher is present or referred, allows us to synthesize some findings: the teacher appears as an image much used in the traditional discourse, especially in the humor discourse – talkative, teaching, disciplinarian, irritated. The issue of the evaluation is recurring in the work of both designers, but in Tonucci´s work we found the subtle criticism to the evaluations that are currently advised. The Italian author also satirizes some aspects of the new pedagogies in force, as well as the new demands made to the teachers. Finally, in some strips the two authors recognize the tiring feature of the “being a teacher”: to work with undisciplined students, to be badly paid, and so on. One can say that the different ways between two players and two worlds involved in the school – teacher versus students, school lessons versus daily experiences – are the source for a large number of funny situations that are presented.

Key words: teaching representations, comics, humor.