Frazz by Jef Mallett for October 15, 2012

OK, school me on this one….I don’t get it….

Frazz is starting to explain the reason for the teacher’s example, which the student missed entirely:You get richer results with pressure.

the point is that it is spelled and pronounced espresso not expresso. the teacher was trying to make a point about pressure but blew it by mispronouncing the word.

I’m just kinda surprised that She expected a 3rd-grader to know the fine distinctions of Java!

What does She THINK those Kids drink in the morning?

When I was in third grade I probably wouldn’t have known. Today, the parents might own an espresso machine or go to Starbucks. (In the latter case, the difference between plain old coffee and e[xs]presso would be “about $2.50 a cup”)

school has to be hard. prepares kids for the real world. that and to compete other countries’ kids on test scores.

Actually “expresso” is in the dictionary as an alternate (but not preferred) spelling of “espresso.” Furthermore, if you spell it that way you’re also supposed to pronounce the X. It’s a false etymology: “espresso” is an inflection of the Italian verb “to press” (the coffee) and has nothing to do with speed. _

zoidknight: At what grade level? I got my masters only a decade and half ago, but was in elementary school before and during WW-II.

She must be an Alton Brown fan.

“Espresso” indeed. Looks like she might need a bit of remedial English on the side.

OK, this is not the first time Frazz has slammed Mrs. Olsen for her pronunciation of the word espresso. She is soo not euro-cool, poor thing. Stephan Pastis, if you are reading this, please spoof! It oozes the subtle condescension that you so skillfully and gently mock. (Ps- and I say this as a regular reader of Frazz. Enjoy this strip.)

I wouldn’t have known what the difference was even if she had said it correctly.

Most of your posts are about what you don’t like about the comic and its main characters.As far as I can tell, most or all of your posts are left in the comments for this comic.

I think Frazz is also answering to the original question the girl had: school is hard because you have to put pressure on the children to get something better out of them (as with espresso vs ‘plain’)

I’m sure that Frazz sympathizes with the girl—the “expresso vs espresso” has long been a personal peeve with him, especially around Coach Hacker. I wonder if Mallett/Frazz are familiar with the exercise bike known at the Expresso?