All across America, the question of whether manga should be allowed into classrooms is becoming an interesting debate.  In several classrooms throughout high schools and middle schools, the question whether or not manga, a Japanese form of graphic novels, should be allowed to be read and used in projects in the classroom setting.

Some kids already think that manga should be in the classroom. Current manga reader Lauren Haught said, “It depends on how long the manga is, but yes, manga should be used in the classroom. There is more to the stories than pictures. It’s creative and insightful, and there are things like character development and plot too. The only problem is that using one in a book report might be hard if the manga’s too short.”

With working at a local library, it’s no surprise a children’s reading advocate would stick up for manga. “I think that anything that encourages kids to read is good,”a librarian at Johnson County Library, Kate Claus, said.

Some children begin reading manga and introducing it to the classroom at a younger age as well. Grade school teacher, Melissa Haught said, “Manga can be culturally valuable to any child interested above the grade of 4.”

Pleasure reading, especially in teenagers, has been falling for quite some time now. According to the Washington Post, pleasure reading dropped 23 percent from 2003 to 2008, from 65 minutes a week to 50 minutes a week – with the greatest falloff for those ages 12 to 14.

The pros to manga being in the classroom is that it could encourage kids to read and expand their cultural experiences. This could also expand their world views and change the way we perceive other countries. A con to it though is that people could try to only read manga and not give other reading a chance. Some kids might abuse manga and use it as an excuse to not read at all in the classroom.

Some things about reading manga is the interest that it can spark in any child who enjoys reading them. In every state there is an avid manga community. Within each community’s conventions there are events such as: anime (animated versions of manga) being played, panels are held by experts for people who are curious how to draw manga, how to write for your own manga, fan panels, how to make your own cosplay (costume of characters in manga or anime), voice actor panels, and many more events like that are held. They also hold many shops where one can purchase material not commonly found from artists or vendors from manga companies or places from Japan.

Another value to manga is that it can greatly help a kid in future life. While helping people gain skills like how to become more involved in groups like anime clubs, sharing interests with others, learning about another culture, it can also lead to an interest in taking another language and different career paths. Many people who have taken an interest in manga have become manga or anime artists, manga or anime translators, animators for animation companies in the United States, and can take an interest in working abroad in a different country.

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