school: Browse The Strips

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Lynn's Comments: We rarely knew our teachers' first names and never knew where they lived. They just sort of showed up at the school and disappeared when classes were over. I once saw a teacher coming out of the washroom in a restaurant and it was hard to imagine he had been doing something we all had to do! By the same token, it was tough to make eye contact with a teacher who was pregnant, knowing she had done what had to be done to get that way. I think teachers are allowed to be human, now, and it must be a good thing.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Lynn's Comments: These children were part of a group of friends including Deanna Sobinski who were always in the background and never part of the story. It wasn't until the kids became teenagers that their friends took on personalities and played a role. This was a good thing, because the story was already becoming complicated with the introduction of relatives and the developing relationships with the adults' friends.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Lynn's Comments: This is a small glimpse into a day in my life. My grade three teacher kept me after school on the last day to tell me that after all the conflict we had endured together during the year, she thought I was basically a good kid. This was the attitude that most of my teachers had....and when Aaron's teachers gave him "the talk" I knew exactly where they were coming from.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I have had a number of readers contact me to say they too had been students of Mrs. Hardacre. Isn't it amazing how well we remember these people! Then again, our teachers were as influential to many of as our parents were.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Lynn's Comments: Aaron was recently reminiscing about the great lunches I used to make for him; "Other kids might have a slice of cheese and some dry, white bread--but we got a great big, honking SANDWICH!" Katie didn't share his enthusiasm; "I used to trade mine with a boy who always had sugar sandwiches." (She's always had a sweet tooth.) I wasn't angry that Katie had given her lunches away--considering the poor diets of some kids, he probably needed a good, nutritious lunch more than she did.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Lynn's Comments: The other place where a silent candy wrapper is needed is church! Mom never minded the peppermints Dad brought so we kids would stay awake during the sermon... she was embarrassed by the sounds of the wrapper!

Friday, November 9, 2012

Lynn's Comments: When I did this drawing, I actually felt my arm waving in the air desperately wanting to answer a question--it brought me back to my grade school days. I never missed an opportunity to show off. It was always disappointing to have the teacher ask someone else, someone less energetic than myself. There is one serious drawback to being chosen after such a wild display of shoulder-wrenching arm gestures, however: If you get the answer wrong, you look pretty darned silly!!

Monday, November 12, 2012

Lynn's Comments: I always wondered how teachers, with all they have to do and all the students they have to keep track of, still, out of the corner of an eye, manage to catch the troublemakers red handed!

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Lynn's Comments: There always has to be a villain in the classroom, someone who bullies and "breaks the law"--that's just the way it is. I bet we can all remember the names and faces of the kids who made our own young lives miserable.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Lynn's Comments: I had two nemeses in elementary school--I can still picture them. I can remember the fear I had lying awake at night knowing that I would have to face them. I was a bit of a bully in my own right; I could fight tooth and nail if I had to, and I'd win. I wouldn't prey on just any kid, I'd go after the mean ones--the ones I thought deserved a good pummelling!

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Lynn's Comments: I continued to fight and make up and fight all through elementary school. It was just the way things were. I was too young to see the whole picture, and I'd often wind up looking at negatives.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Lynn's Comments: This positive little episode resulted in many letters--mostly from teachers and social workers who used these panels to illustrate things they had been trying to talk about: bullying, tolerance, and compassion. No parable here was unintended. By talking about ordinary things that happen to ordinary people, I'd often open a floodgate. So many things that should be resolved...aren't. It was surprising to find that my work was being seen as an opening for discussion.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Lynn's Comments: I remember taking my mother's advice and being nice to one of the kids I "hated." It worked like a charm. After my enemy was certain that my efforts were genuine, the feud ended. This didn't keep me from fighting, though. I still needed the occasional pounding... and I gave a few in return. It's interesting to know now, having talked to some of the kids with whom I had serious differences, that we had all come from families where discipline was strong and physical. If "a pounding" was commonplace at home, then this is how we resolved our differences outside!

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Lynn's Comments: At school, Aaron was constantly being asked, "Who is Deanna Sobinski?" He didn't have a girlfriend, that I knew of, and there were no other Deannas in town except for my friend's daughter--who was about the same age as Kate. It was assumed that everything I wrote was directly related to my family. Because of this, many storylines were hard on my kids--especially anything to do with childhood sweethearts! Despite my explanations, some folks still believe the strip is auto-biographical.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Lynn's Comments: I hear folks talking about kids and their relationships, and it surprises me when they say that real "love" doesn't happen until you're physically mature. I disagree. I remember being head over heels "in love" with a boy in my grade three class. I remember it clearly, and the feeling was as strong and as passionate as if I was 16. I had no concept of the physical stuff then--but the desperate need to be near him and to be cared for in return was overwhelming. Likewise, his rejection was painful and devastating. I hated him for showing my notes to his friends and I said so. Like Deanna Sobinski, he was attractive and popular, and he made me feel that I wasn't good enough. In retrospect, I think he just didn't know how to handle an ardent admirer.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Lynn's Comments: We gave Aaron a key to the house, hoping he wouldn't lose it. He did. The key was as much of a concern to him as his glasses, which he hated to wear. He lost them, he broke them, and he left them at home. The frustration his glasses caused was part of the reason why they never appeared in the strip! When he was finally old enough for contacts, he was overjoyed. Now that I too have to wear glasses, I can see how hard it was for an active, conservative kid to accept them.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Even kids know the art of subtle expression. The way we make eye contact, the way we stand and speak and gesture, are all ways of communicating the way we really feel. Something as simple as watching someone open an envelope, conveys a state of mind. Adults have to be careful... kids are as sensitive to these things as we are!

Friday, February 15, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Writing a series of strips about Valentine's Day brought back so many memories. In grade two, my girlfriends and I thought the boys in our grade were SO immature!

Monday, February 25, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Lunch is an all-important event. A disagreeable lunch can destroy the rest of an otherwise productive day. When my dad made lunch, I knew I was going to get a tomato and cheese sandwich. This is OK if consumed at the time of assembly, but after a lunch-bucket ride and time in a locker, a tomato and cheese sandwich is horrible. On "dad days," I should have made my own lunch....but when you're a kid, complaining is much easier.

Friday, December 20, 2013

Lynn's Comments: I not only cry during children's stage plays, I cry at parades! All those lives, all that talent and potential makes me very emotional.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Not so long ago I was wandering around one of the local high schools--waiting for the robotics team to run one of their competition models (I am such a fan!) when someone opened a locker. The familiar smell sent me back in time to days of lunch bags, gym strip, foolscap and gum. They say that you don't forget smells, so test yourself: think of new Pink Pearl erasers, a doll's saran hair, pencil shavings, crayons and wax lips--do they bring back memories?

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Lynn's Comments: For the new release of this strip, the dialogue was changed to read, "Hey, guys, what's short and round--" I knew I would still get negative mail but perhaps fewer complaints than when it was first printed. People don't want to see derogatory remarks of any kind, even if it's exactly what two little boys would say. I could have deleted the strip, but I rather liked the gag!

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Katie was starting grade two when we moved to North Bay. (The children in the strip were three years younger than Katie and Aaron). The little school she attended was about a mile and a half down the road, next to a hobby farm. At lunchtime she and the other children could watch the animals through the fence; a donkey, chickens, and some rabbits. On occasion, the farmer would take the kids for rides on his donkey, which I thought was charming. I said to her, "Katie isn't this a great place to have a school?! This is something you'll remember for the rest of your life!" and she replied, "Yeah, I will --'cause it stinks!"

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Aaron's grade two teacher in Lynn Lake told me that little kids felt good about seeing their classmates coats on the hooks outside their rooms because it meant that their friends were there. If a coat was missing, they noticed right away and were worried. Sheena had some wonderful observations about the kids in her charge and I said to her, "If you ever write a book, I'll illustrate it." Sheena Baker wrote, "There's A Worm in my Apple," which I did illustrate. It's out of print now, but it was a sweet and funny read. It was released in 1985 by Stoddart Publishing and the ISBN number is: 0-7737-5029-0. Maybe you can find it online somewhere. I still laugh when I read it!

Monday, September 15, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I never looked forward to phys ed, and as soon as I could, I dropped it in favour of--well, anything else! This series was done for the teachers who loved to watch us tail-draggers squirm! In their defense, they kept us in the best shape we'd ever been in.