Does it count as a backroom deal if they’re in the main area of the classroom?
For brevity's sake I cut out a small scene where Lillian herds the orphan kids out of the classroom. They'll be plenty of Lillian later, anyway...
Does it count as a backroom deal if they’re in the main area of the classroom?
Giving shit heads a deal only encourages bad behavior later. We were sassy cats, but we can make deals later. Kids need to learn there are consequences.
I have faith that the deal is going to be something that teaches them a stronger lesson than just giving them a zillion years of detention will. Much as I dislike Giselle, she’s still an 8 year old kid, and one who has enough of a conscience to realize she was doing something wrong.
And I think Mrs A is smart enough to realize that. I don’t think she’s going to do anything that will make them think they’re getting away with it again.
And Giselle seems to be genuinely thinking things over, too.
Mrs. A is a pretty smart lady. This “deal” will be something that will teach them something.
All they’re learning NOW is that you have to endure a punishment for doing bad things. Mrs. A’s “deal” should get them to stop DOING the bad things.
Exactly, punishments only teach kids to not get caught.
I don’t think she’s encouraging their bad behavior. And they’re not “shit heads”. They’re children. And one thing I’ve learned about children is that if they believe they’re wronged, they will lash out if they can.
What they’re learning here is that two wrongs don’t make a right. And if you look at their faces, the only two who did look angry don’t anymore after Mrs. Afkami explains that why what they did was wrong. The others were already contemplating, especially after learning they were tricked by Truck.
What Ms. Afkami is looking to do is effective discipline, which is different from a punishment. She is wanting them to learn to be better, and I love how she doesn’t invalidate that they were angry and hurt. For that, she has props.
Man, these kids are more self-aware than most adults you’ll see out there (well, more so than the ones who need to become more aware of themselves)
We had Tommy realizing he was “the bad guy” and being genuinely disturbed by that fact, now Giselle seeing that she & her group were being jerks, and not in a “…and what are YOU going to do about it?” way.
I hope this deal is both an effective teaching device, and a silly/entertaining endeavor to watch,
I think, in a way, a lot of adults learn how to STOP being self-aware. They become better at rationalizing and more settled in their self-image. “This is how I am” instead of “is this who I want to be?”
Some folks NEVER learn not to be jerks. Some a-holes on Twitter sent Zelda Williams pics of her dead father. This really happened.
The world lost a comedian and an artist. She lost her FATHER.
I hope their parents are proud of them. My God, what’s the point of such a thing? Why cause more pain?
And Fox News even called Robin Williams a coward for committing suicide instead of continuing to battle his depression. Seriously. What jerks.
Well, Fox News was never known for respectable journalism – I don’t even understand why they’re even allowed to be on air, anymore. If you do things like that in Germany, you risk being shut down for not only insulting a person that met a tragical end, but also for more or less harassing his family.
They’re the kind of programm that really shouldn’t be aired.
So… censorship is somehow a good thing?
If you don’t like something, it needs to disappear? Thanks for showing me what a tolerant person you are!
Note: I don’t watch Fox news. I also don’t watch it’s opposites (CNN. MSNCB, CBS, NBC, etc…). But I would never call for them to be taken off the air. That makes you worse than them by far.
It’s not about censorship, but about respecting other people. Dragging a dead person through the mire isn’t something you’re normally allowed to do on TV, especially not if that person’s just recently deceased.
People who commit suicide are tragical beings in need of help – and not cowards who need to be insulted post-mortem on TV.
That Fox News’ behaviour makes me sick can’t make me possible worse in any way than their behaviour actually is.
I think of it this way: Fox News has the right to speak their minds on the subject, but having a right doesn’t /make/ you right.
An American has the right under the Constitution to believe the sky is green and regularly dispenses chocolate pudding for their sole benefit, and they even have the right to stand on their soapbox and proselytize about it to anyone who will listen to them. Doesn’t make it true.
That said, I find myself in the unbelievable position of defending Fox News (treasure this moment, if you will, it is a rare and strange thing like finding a weed growing on the moon). Listening to the clip, the man speaking does not sound like he’s accusing Williams of cowardice, but is contrasting in quietly shocked bafflement that someone could take such joy in life and still have something so terrible inside that would cause them to flee from life altogether. “…and yet something inside you is so horrible…or you’re such a coward…or whatever the reason…”
Poor phrasing? Certainly, but not, I think, an accusation against Robin. But that might just be me not wanting to believe that even Fox News could be that low.
Everything people hear on tv sinks in a lot more than facts sometimes… Freedom of speech, hurting someone emotionally, and defamation of character are all very different things.
This is the first time I ever heard about Robin Williams being dead. Usually I don’t care about celebrity fandom and all the obscure celebrities I don’t know about, but I was surprised about Robin Williams, probably just because I remember him from Aliddan and I watched the cartoon series a lot.
Wait, what kind of pictures? Were they doing it with the idea of trying to share with her how much they appreciated her father, or were they pointing and laughing at her loss? I think most memorials include pictures of the deceased, we just haven’t worked out the rules for doing so online.
Given the context, I think it was just pictures, and maybe with some hateful messages attached. I doubt she would have been upset if they sent her things like “we will all miss Robin Williams. RIP.”
Creeps sent her photoshopped pictures of his corpse. This was not intended as a memorial. This was vicious assault.
Given what Robin Williams did with “corpses” in Patch Addams, maybe it *was* meant as a memorial.
The classrooms are the back rooms; first there’s the entrance, then the halls, then, at last, the classrooms. Any further back and you’ll be in a storage closet.
Depends really how big the school is, what entrance you come in and how it’s arranged. In most big schools I’ve been to, storage closets were in the basement, the entrances were just doors into the hallways which were dotted with classrooms on either side.
Perhaps there’s a need for flamboyance in the schools in USA, I really wouldn’t know, sorry.
I just wanted to take a moment to say that as a teacher, I sincerely appreciate the way you write your educators, Dave. I get really tired of the one note stereotypes that the media generally uses for teachers (ie: the Cameron Diaz ‘Bad Teacher’, the Stand and Deliver ‘Tough Savior’, the New Girl ‘Wide Eyed Naif’, etc). Ms. Afkami is tough but fair, and understands what her students need to hear, but when dealing with administrators, has had enough and is going to ream Ashton in whatever way she can. Jessie is somewhat innocent in the ways of her students (as befits a student teacher), but she’s not a starry eyed moron. Principal Ashton was covering his butt by throwing his teachers under the bus, and I’ve seen that in practice, too (although there are many other principals who stand behind their teachers %100)… The point is, educators run the gamut from burned out paycheck collectors to the nominate-for-sainthood types, and it’s refreshing to see them (and your other characters, frankly) written as well-rounded people.
I also enjoy your art style (as does my 11 year old, who is learning how to draw comics, and likes to emulate the way you do faces), the storyline (complex without going into George R.R. Martin numbers of characters and subplots), and the family-friendly nature of your strip (the cursing symbols you use are great at getting the point across without making me blush to read them with my daughter). Sorry for the mini novel in the comments; I guess I just wanted to say, Thank you for putting out my favorite web comic!
Thanks so much! Characterization is definitely something I try to focus on. 😀
And best of luck to your blossoming artist. 🙂
goodness, you’ve launched Sue and Kathryn?
Covertly. ;3 I’m feeling out an update pattern before I officially say anything.
What? Wait? Where?
Yeay for more Lillian in the future! o/
Very interested in what you come up with for Mina.
These are not well written 8-year-olds. Nobody that young is that self-aware.
As a mom, some days 8 year-olds are exactly that self-aware, and sometimes they are clueless beyond belief. On the whole, though, they are pretty good about figuring out their own motives and to see how their actions look to others if they slow down enough to pay attention. In my experience, they are less likely to lie to themselves than many adults.