Heart of the School
Cidu Bill on Sep 17th 2008
Three people sent me this one before lunchtime, so I figured I might as well put it online:
Mr. Barnes switched from being the music teacher to being the football coach as a way of increasing his job security, since schools are going to drop their music programs way before they drop their football programs.
Of course the joke would have worked better if Heart and Dean weren’t second-graders, since I’ve yet to come across an elementary school with its own football team (though I wouldn’t be surprised to be told that Texas elementary schools have them). Cartoonists should have a Gag Exchange Program, where if Mark Tatulli has an idea that’s better suited to a high school strip, Archie can use it, and if the Archie writers come up with a storyline too relentlessly grim for Riverdale High, they can pass it along to Westview High.
Filed in Bill Bickel, Heart of the City, Mark Tatulli, comic strips, comics, football, humor, schools | 12 responses so far
Nicole Sep 17th 2008 at 12:55 pm 1
Hmmmmm Archie — nope — Zits yes
heather Sep 17th 2008 at 12:56 pm 2
I saw this comic this morning. I’m a music teacher — fortunately I don’t work in the schools, but it’s still something I know a LOT about. I was also of course, IN the school music programs back in the day. I remember all the relentless fund-raising we had to do all year long to be able to take our band to the national music festival, a very prestigious achievement, great PR for the school, etc etc. We had to pay every cent of it ourselves. The football team didn’t like the colours of their uniforms? New ones, bought and paid for, no questions asked. Need new balls? Here you go. Travel around the province for games all the time? But of course. Our instruments are falling apart? Meh, you can make do. Our uniforms are 20 years old? Sure, get some new ones, if you can raise the money yourselves. Sports coaches: about a dozen. Music teachers (running all the music classes as well as 5 bands): 1. And he also had to teach math.
Of course, my music teacher back then is now the PRINCIPAL of the school. That’s another way to achieve better job security. I wonder if he funds the music program differently…
Anyway, I LOL’d at this comic, a very sad and sympathetic LOL.
jayjaybear Sep 17th 2008 at 03:06 pm 3
And the relentlessly WEIRD stuff goes back to Tatulli to put in Lio…
Howabominable (aka Lindsey ^_^) Sep 17th 2008 at 03:52 pm 4
I’m in California and my elementary school had a football team… however, it didn’t have its own coach, it just used the teachers for coaches. I’ve never heard of an elementary school hiring a football coach to only do football.
Alexandra Erin Sep 17th 2008 at 04:18 pm 5
I gather that they’re in a more urban setting, but my school was K-12 contained within a single building. High school had a separate administration from elementary under a single superintendent (and school board), but one music teacher ran both programs and many of the coaches also did elementary PE.
Patrick Sep 17th 2008 at 04:32 pm 6
I love music and sports (in fact, I kind of doubt that many people feel like the two are mutually exclusive) and I think that our schools should do their best to encourage students to pursue all sorts of interests and extra-curriculars. But, if more people in the schol and the community at large are more interested in one thing than another, the first thing is going to get more attention, more support and more money. Believe me, there are schools where the football team has very little support or fan interest and, at some of those schools, the music program or theater or arts or baseball or academic decathlon program is generating more interest.
Kaitlyn Sep 17th 2008 at 05:18 pm 7
I didn’t go to a school with a football team until high school.
But I didn’t get this at first, despite knowing about all the cutbacks and things.
I was thinking of my current school (a college) and how we haven’t won a football came yet this season. (It’s only been 3 games, but still.) And somebody was saying we needed a new coach.
So that + this comic = “job security? In football?”
Mark in Boston Sep 17th 2008 at 05:25 pm 8
Remember small-town Fourth of July parades? With the school marching band — Johnny, Willie, Teddy, Fred and all the rest in their uniforms?
In my small town the only music in the Fourth of July parade is me, on the back of a truck playing a keyboard. The year before I started doing this, the Fourth of July parade had no music at all!
The whole town marching in silence in the Fourth of July parade. America, I hope this is what you wanted, because in many towns this is what you’ve got.
Powers Sep 18th 2008 at 09:37 am 9
Mark, it’s kinda hard to get a school band together in July when school is out of session.
Cidu Bill Sep 18th 2008 at 03:06 pm 10
Powers, you’d be surprised: Serious band members remain musicians throughout the summer: Many of them go to band camp, and if the town wanted them for a parade, a sufficient number of them would make sure they were available.
Powers Sep 20th 2008 at 10:08 pm 11
I didn’t say it was impossible, just hard. =) And I’ll have you know I *was* a serious band member.
Bob in Western PA Sep 20th 2008 at 11:06 pm 12
I just got back from a band competition. My son’s band practiced twice a week all summer. They were required to be in the Memorial Day and Independence Day parades. Band camp was the first two and a half weeks in August - 8 hours a day for 13 days. They also had a summer mini-band camp in July - that was only 5 hours a day for a week Their first performance was the weekend before school started.
Most of the marching bands in this area are way more serious than the “real” sports teams.