Baldo by Hector D. Cantú and Carlos Castellanos for January 15, 2025

Wise saying!

Especially true for Baldo. Perhaps if his empañada ration was tied to his grades…

Look, this is Gracie that we’re talking about here.

He wants her to get back in there and overthink it.

One of my college classes got to take one of those “how well do you read directions?” tests once. You know, don’t do anything until you’ve read ALL the directions. The directions had you basically doodling on the paper after you put your name at the top. And when you got to the final instruction, it said, “Now ignore all of those directions except the one about putting your name at the top.” I saw that, wrote my name on it and sat back to watch the fireworks as voices all over the room gasped “Oh no!”

Not for Gracie!

You may be right. Let me go back and overthink this.

Ever take a standardized test in a room full of people and finish a full 45 minutes before the next person does? Talk about an “uh-oh” feeling!

My daughter gets extended time on tests. Unlike most students, she actually uses it. The teacher said that the students who finish the fastest hardly ever pass tests.

There are two ways work can be too easy. The first is if it covers something you have mastered, so it takes very little effort for you. The second is if you misunderstood the directions. Gracie has most likely mastered material the rest of her class is still working on. That said, it never hurts to double-check your work.

I often say this to myself after I’ve breezed through 3/4 of a SUDOKU puzzle…

Either Gracie is standing on a stack of empanadas or she learned to levitate.

Is Gracie on stilts in last 2 panels?

In other words: If at first you do succeed…double check your work.

True for me and algebra!

Is there a new artist? The first two panels really seem off…? Maybe just me.

When I was in junior high/high school we had to take state exams in each subject at the end of the year. I would finish the test in maybe half the time allowed – too soon to turn them in and leave as there was a minimum time that one had to stay.

The teachers were always surprised and would ask if I was sure when I turned the papers in. I was – I knew if I kept checking it over I would decide that something did not look right, change it, and I would have been right the first time.

Only classes I had trouble with were gym and music (fat and tone deaf).