For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for September 11, 2022

thanks for that relief, John

Obviously, Dad has forgotten what senior year is like.

Poor Mike! His homework is too hard for me. I’m glad I graduated a long time ago!

They’re preparing you for the real world Mike. In a few years, you’ll be finishing up your assignments in your office when the boss will come by and drop a ton more of assignments in your inbox.;-D

The function has no x-intercepts because b²-4ac is negative.

I went to a smart kid school and they didn’t give us assignments like that.

ne-ver!

In my experience, college was WAY easier than high school.

And they all graduated before ‘internet years’, what an achievement !

Hey I can’t even remember studying discriminants in grade 12 math when I went to school 40 years ago. But I imagine Y stands for inflation. For example if x = 2 then Y = 12, but if x = 10 then Y = 284!

They have taught you the tools of knowlage. Now you have to figure out how to use them to get answers. And you will be doing so for the rest of your life!

Teachers tend to pile on hours of homework (daily, as well as weekends) to compensate for the fact that they seldom actually TEACH!!

Well this gave me high anxiety! I’m so glad I graduated long before this was introduced in our school agenda. Good grief!

Last panel: Saint Michael suddenly realizes that he’s sitting on a pine-cone..

My youngest daughter started her senior year of high school. She already almost has enough credits to graduate, taking mostly AP courses. She has 3 study halls this year & voluntarily gave one up to get an EXTRA credit so she could attain NH Scholar status. (Part of it are the classes: semester 1 is Current Events & semester 2 is Law & Justice. She’s taking these for FUN!)

I wonder if those questions are real, or if Lynn just made them up?

Crikey! I don’t even know what the assignments are!!

What an easy way out. There is no right or wrong answer to any of the questions. That’s why our kids are stupid now a days.

As much as I always hated homework, I can’t believe I’m working from home at my age.

And how much of what he’s learning now will be used in his first post-graduate job?

Work….and then it hits you…life?

Reading Mike’s math problem I just realised that I still don’t get it, and am still amazed I pulled off a 56 in grade 13, after a 90 in grade 12. In Ontario we had a 5 year high school program for those going to university until the late 1980’s, when grade 13 courses became Ontario Academic Courses. I went through the transition between the 2 systems so some of my courses were OACs and some were grade 13. Many students still do the 5th year of high school in order to improve their grades to get into the university programs of their choice. Informally they are doing a “victory lap” while doing the 5th year, and so long as they have the required number of OACs they no longer have to take 5 years to do high school.

Most of my OAC and grade 13 courses used the same textbooks as first year university, and actually made the transition to university easier because the student already had some familiarity with the course work, and in some cases was given credit for work done in high school and advanced directly to second year university courses.

And after all this, write an essay on what you did this summer.

He’s a senior and he’s only in Algebra 1?

Most of the the stuff he’s learning he will never use. How about teaching them about the stock market, how to stay out of debt, balance a checkbook, buy a car, etc.

I couldn’t do any of his homework assignments, and in my seventy years, NONE of those things was necessary in my life!

In University I took History and Art History to for the credits I needed, not because I planed a life career in those fields. I found the classes interesting, and I learned things. The finals were essay tests in those terrible “blue books”. Like trace the concept on civilization through out history. Sure, OK. There should be tests for those like me who was an engineering major and tests for those who plan on spending their life in those fields. Oh, and there should be classes on how to write BS essays in blue books. True/false and multiple choice are my kind of tests.

What does that first question even mean?

Wow… But, I doubt that there are questions like that today. More like “Discuss current theory on gender identity and impact on the workforce in the USA.” Right…

I don’t remember High School being that tough.

Pity the poor teachers who have to grade all those papers.

Those are some pretty awful assignments no doubt.

Hey John, you ever heard of SENSITIVITY!?

You’re nearly as big a J@CK@$$ as the one you married!

does that equation have real roots?

I hate to say it but, I found John is right. I thought I worked hard in high school. Then I got to college! Yikes!

How old is this strip? Looks like he’s using an encyclopedia or some kind of book! to find his answers. No Wikipedia or Google yet? Just like the old days—I remember them well.

One nice thing about being a “B” average person in highschool as opposed to an “A” average, the “B” average person learns how to study before they get to college, making it a little less impossible.

Pre-computer days, for sure..

Those are some pretty “gut” assignments! Is Mike in AP classes?

This is a critical time in Michael’s life. Is he is a winner, or a loser like those dropouts?

Yeah, but next year you’re getting paid for it. Whole different ball of wax. ;-)

I don’t understand any of it,and Mike never had to.

I guess grocery store Mike is done?