Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for April 02, 2012

Looking back from today’s perspective, it wouldn’t have made a difference anyway. As a slacker, he probably would have avoided paying off student loans, so he’d actually be ahead of the game a bit.

Personal responsibility for success? Forget it.

What every college kid is thinking today

are there diplomas in those eggs?

The Asian response to the teacher in panel 3 would be “Yes, teacher, you’re absolutely right and I will work harder, bringing honor to my family.” And then they would actually do that. Asia drinks America’s milkshake (if you know the allusion).

It’s not general complacency that brings down “powerful cultures”, so much as over-reaching military adventurism. There will always be individuals with initiative and willingness to work will find a way to replace the complacent. What those with initiative do after they elbow their way to the top makes all the difference. (Of course dumbing down the school system doesn’t help either, but this cartoon is from before the Regan years, I think.)

Work harder! Forget it. I’ll just let Uncle Sam take care of me.

Always a catch, isn’t there Calvin?

Work is just another 4-letter word to Calvin. In Strickllands words Calvin will always be a slacker.

It ain’t easy being ahead of your time.

A true politician: Fighting for the rights of the people, even more so for his own rights, and least of all for the responsibility, humility, and the love of actually doing something. Vanity demands. Humility gives. Calvin is forgiven though. An even truer politician wouldn’t get past the second box; he has the right to never admit defeat. Vanity, thy name is (wo)man!

Yes Calvin, self reliance is too much work… it’s much better to rely on Hope & Change.

‘Aye, there’s the rub!"

Quoting Frederic Bastiat "Now, labor being in itself a pain, and man being naturally inclined to avoid pain, it follows, and history proves it, that wherever plunder is less burdensome than labor, it prevails…..When does plunder cease, then? When it becomes more burdensome and more dangerous than labor. "

No Calvin, you will NOT get the skills that you need for 21st Century Jobs, but, thanks to politicians’ unending needs to quantify everything, we WILL teach you how to take standardized tests.

Nowadays, they would diagnose you as ADD and ADHD and drug you until you were as dumb as the rest of the class.

Boy do I know that feeling! I was completely unprepared for the amount of work in college because I never had to do it before then.

http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/underground/index.htm

The way it is in too many public schools today, the teacher’s response would be, “Don’t worry about learning anything, just feel good about yourself while I indoctrinate you”. I see the results of this in the workplace every day. High school grads that can’t keep a job because they don’t have basic skills that I had in 6th grade.

I sympathize, having been in somewhat the same situation. But not in literature-related subjects, because those were things I never developed a taste for independently. Took me a long time to learn how to read literature with the same eyes as those who are more used to it. And as you say when one hits college, one is not used to working to “get” stuff. It’s hard to turn that particular switch on without practice.

As for ability grouping, you have to remember that those at the very top are by definition a small percentage. That translates into significant numbers (necessary for a class) only in large school situations. Most other times, the high-level student will be left to his/her own devices.

We are relatively young as a nation. And from formation, our prevailing ethos has been to do things locally. This is unfortunately not conducive towards isolating and educating high-level talent. But there are other things that it does very well instead. There’s a price for everything, it seems.

maybe have a good job…

Well Calvin, you got your answer… what now?

Glad to see you were able to post those beautiful eggs again.

Watterson was WAY ahead of his time! Amazing how relevant this cartoon is to what’s happening in the world today…

Excellent point…

“Work, for the night is coming!”

Awwwwwwww. How cute.

LOL xxx

Beautiful, margueritem!

God, I miss this strip.

It is unfortunate that in the real world, being in right place at the right time counts for more than anything else. Noted that in the Army when the man that BOTTOMED the electronics course made E-4 fourteen months bvefore the one that TOPPED it. (Both enlisted same day!)

A lot of people thought that way,unfortunately

I was talking about Calvins out look.

Gimme . . . gimme . . . gimme . . . !!!

I want . . . I want . . . I want . . . !!!

What? I have to actually work for it?!?!?

Oh, well. Never mind then.

what if the school is under-performing? as much as those kids put in to that school, they will get out skills that are under-performing. because, GOP says that teachers costs too much, and fox news says that we should cut their benefits, pay, equipment, books, and rights.

Did you decorate those? Awesome!!

Calvin the Ditchdigger

His lack of education is more than compensated for by his keenly developed moral bankruptcy … Woody Allen

Been there done that——same result

Yep, poor Calvin. He’s got to exert himself to get a good result—so it’s not worth it.

On the other hand, if someone would just get him interested in something he finds exciting (dinosaurs comes to mind), then no amount of effort is too much.

Ooooo….so pretty! Thank you!

Calvin is a kid in a comic strip – sheesh.

Thank you for these gorgeous eggs Marg!

Too true. All countries which become successful start by having high standards and hard work. Then they get soft, like North America today.

Many school systems fail their students. most, in fact.

hahahahhahahahha!

I always see this in other people.

Calvin’s Report on the planet Mercury — a second try:“The only reason that Mercury seems to be so barren is because the Mercurians put up special effects to make it LOOK that way, whenever they get word that a spacecraft from Earth is going to visit them. The End.”Miss Wormwood: “Calvin, see me after class, please.”“WELL, I TRIED!!!”