The “look” of the characters and all of the details created by the artist’s vision end up becoming a sort of “brand” for that class. It is their “look.”
The class brand is usually the result of a certain teenage way of drawing a character that is different from anything else, a mixture of many elements and artistic ideas taken from the Internet and pop culture. Classes end up being very aware of and even defending their brand to others in the hallways and around campus.
Before working with the Invisibles, I would have continued to think that teaching using comprehensible input was just about me getting better at using CI, but now I see that it is about my working with students in terms of the jobs that they have in my classroom as well, and not just the job I have in it.
When students start comparing their artists’ work with that of other classes (“They’re not as good as ours!”), I know that the class feels that they own their brand. Since the artist will usually work in her role all year, that feeling of ownership grows stronger as the months go by.
The position of artist is the most coveted job in my classroom by far. The goal is to find students who can draw and listen to most of the input, constantly tuning in to the story as they work.
The idea of working with students to coax them to listen better in order to be able to do their job better is a remarkable new thing in a second language classroom. Students are working hard for a real-life goal: creating something together with their peers! Oppositional defiance from students is almost non-existent in such a setting, because those who would disrupt the classroom process simply aren’t allowed to do so by the rest of the class.