Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for December 15, 2009

Sounds like some ones “F” is about to be showing.

Looks like someone wants to visit the principal’s office.

I don’t what Her in my class…

i guess so, poppy. You can’t spell. looks like an f- for you too.

Teachers and principals must be laughing their way through this series. I volunteered in my youngest daughter’s class one year. Had an illiterate 2nd grader who point blank told me she didn’t need to learn to read “because we’re rich”! (they were; her Dad owned a big MacD franchise) It was really hard to keep a straight face. She ended up in private school, and finally graduated two years later then my daughter.

But Danae, adverbs and adjectives are where all the fun is.

Used to have a student who claimed to be an anarchist. One day I said i could beat him up and there’d be no consequences. He said, no, that he’d call the police. I’m not sure he understood that there would be no police, because there’d be no law.

She knows what a verb is, though. Seems she is working so hard to avoid work, she is learning in spite of herself.

Reminds me of a book I read when a kid: “Danny and the Homework Machine.” Computers were room-sized; Danny lived with a Professor who worked with one. He set about programming it to do all his homework for him, and in the process learned his lessons and aced the course!

‘Course, now we have spell-check. Doesn’t seem to have the same effect.

Love this week’s storyline. Cheers to any teacher who can keep up with Danae and her ilk!

I’m enjoying this. I can’t say that Danae will say the same when this exchange is over.

Wow. The number of times I’ve heard that since entering grad school…(of course, I sometimes play Danae just to watch my profs twitch, so I’m probably asking for it.)

I wonder how many real-life grade schoolers could explain verbs and adverbs that concisely…

Does anyone know the proper pronunciation of Danae is it: Day-nuh or Dan-nuh or Duh-nay - I teach as well and have generally gotten names correct. However, a little help here might keep a student like Duh-nay (?) less stressed. Actually, maybe if i ask her to pronounce her name in front of the whole class she could present herself like the Philosopher/Queen she so desires to be.

Danae is 1 good reason why today’s teachers are never paid enough

I had a student try and pull something like this with me early this semester. when she said the “my culture doesn’t allow me…” and I can’t even remember what it was she was claiming – I smiled and said – “welcome to my world.”

Depending how she does on her test today, she’ll end up with either an ‘A’ or ‘B’.

I have software to block all the Ad-Verbs on my PC…

I save these and occasionally put the choicest ones on exams.

Mocha-Mad,

It’s DAN-eh.

No, it’s DAY-nuh. (Depends on what part of the country you’re in … )

Hmm, we may need Wiley to weigh in on this one.

Obviously sending Danae to the principal doesn’t work. Her teacher needs to read “Don’t Shoot the Dog,” much more effective way to get anyone to behave.

My sister-in-law is a third grade teacher in rural California. She was telling us the other day that the intelligence and ability to think is rapidly diminishing in today’s children. She gave several examples which are too long to repeat here, but it makes you despair for the future.

Hmm, I’ve often wondered that myself. Steverino: that is a good point.

DAH-nay sounds like an insult. Shouldn’t it be dah-NAY? (Kinda Frenchified but I think it works better …. I know, I know, it’s your strip but really now! :-)

i had a friend in grade school who got in trouble because the recess teacher told him to stop playing in the dirt. my friend said he wasn’t playing in the dirt, it was dehydrated mud.

Logicman it’s Wiley’s perogative to pronounce a name for a character he created in what ever manner he sees fit. just like when a parent names their child. DAH-nay it is. & Steverino i remember “danny and the homework machine” as a very funny book. thanks for reminding me.

“everything is offensive in my world”

must be so easy to be a Republican

Yukoneric said, about 6 hours ago

“Used to have a student who claimed to be an anarchist. One day I said i could beat him up and there’d be no consequences. He said, no, that he’d call the police. I’m not sure he understood that there would be no police, because there’d be no law.”

Reminds me of the grad student who complained to a philosophy professor that there were no objective standards that anyone needed to meet. The prof replied that was good–it meant that he had no need to read the student’s paper, he’d just give them all Fs. When the student (naturally) objected, the prof replied, “So, there are some standards we must meet!”

mancocapac said, 9 minutes ago

’ “everything is offensive in my world”

‘must be so easy to be a Republican’

I don’t know–I know plenty of liberals who find lots to be offended by. Anything not “politically correct”–which seems to be anything they find offensive…

This is a brilliant series, I hope it continues. In Greek, Danae is three syllables (as Wiley notes above), something like Dan-ah-ay, and it’s spelled with a diaeresis (two little dots) above the “e” to show that it’s pronounced separately. But Wiley has the right to pronounce it as he wishes.

Wonder what’s more entertaining…the comic or the comments..

the comic, without it, there would be no comments…. and “toeing the line” LOVE IT! and i can’t wait to find out about Dad’s GFs…

“Uh-oh… sounds like someone’s cultural bias is showing.” Heh heh… clever.

Yukoneric said: “Used to have a student who claimed to be an anarchist. One day I said i could beat him up and there’d be no consequences. He said, no, that he’d call the police. I’m not sure he understood that there would be no police, because there’d be no law.:”

My experience with the “Let’s-get-rid-of-The-Gummint”-types (Anarchists, Objectivist Libertarians, Grover Norquist-style Anti-Taxers, Teabaggers, etc.) is that they don’t want government – or the laws that it’s meant to enforce – when it might interfere with THEIR wants, desires, etc. Otherwise, they’re fine with government – and laws; the stricter, the better! – for the rest of us mere mortals…

So then Mr.Wiley settled it once and for all, it would be pronounced: DAH-nay. thank you good sir and thanks to all those who helped to resolve this issue.

As a teacher i love kids like Danae, however, i also have to let them know that if their logic ends in the negative then their logic is faulty. So since her logic almost always ends up with her intellectual demise (until next time) the process itself causes no harm… in philosophical terms she creates her own aporia(s) like to see how she pans out as she gets older or will she stay forever young….bet she becomes a university prof. in feminist theory…..

Excellent point Reynard61.

I find it amusing that Liberal posters seem to think this sequence is a satire on Conservatives when the language is so obviously that which is used by the PC police of the Left: “…offensive language” “…in my culture…” “…cultural bias…” etc etc

Wow! I think it’s cool that the cartoonist joins the crowd every now and then! Hi, Wiley!

Kid’s like Danae become the most creative adults. They are just hard to deal with at the time….

It’s interesting that Danae used three adverbs in her little speech.

Personally I blame the wikipedia- adverbs are banned in the wikipedia. (At least as the titles for articles, pretty much).

sigh Where’s ‘Schoolhouse Rock’ when you need it?