Frazz by Jef Mallett for February 07, 2023

The arts were there in the fifties. Perhaps they grew too much (at the expense of life skills) so that now a return to “normal” seems like a drastic cut. . . . Or not.

In most public schools, the problem’s not so much a headache as aching budget.

This could explain what’s going on in Florida.

But almighty football is sacrosanct.

Does the colorist not know of Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon”?

Life imitating art.

And history.

Reminds me of my first pair of progressives.

School is no longer about learning, but about being able to get a job that pays more than starvation wages.

That is usually due to underfunding the public schools.

I am sorry, but I was born decades ago and I do not remember any “arts” beside chorus and band in middle or high school. So what arts existed to get 86’ed since the 70’s when I was in school?

Kill the arts, but everyone thinks they can be an influencer? Better work up a song & dance to get paid, kids. Monetize that. It’s the theme of all the great old movie musicals, like Purple Rain.

Arts? Where’s the money in arts? What we need are more bankers.

I looked up the background on 86ing. It is believed to have come from restaurants running out of an item and rhyming with nix. Not really informative.

I propose it comes from the American TV show, “Get Smart,” as that was Don Adams’ agent ID number. (Barbara Feldman’s number was 99 because she was near perfect.) That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Teacher looked at my drawing and thought I had copied a Rorschach sample, although that’s not what she called it.

Republicans are systematically destroying public education. No one is doing anything to stop them. Heart breaking.

I feel your pain sister. My new glasses have been a literal pain in the neck—and I don’t mean the figuratively. New lenses coming tomorrow. Hope they solve the problem.

My observation, as the father of someone who’s kid just graduated last year, the switch to “block” style scheduling has left little time for the arts. If you took band when I was a kid, that was an every day class for the full year, but only 1/6 of your in school schedule (1/8 in NY, where they had more but shorter classes). Now it would suck up 1/4 of your time, since kids only take four classes a semester, because the powers that be decided they wanted to pretend high school was college. Small wonder the number of kids participating has plummeted.