Read the comics

A newspaper’s comics section does not hold the fascination it once did to a child. Families in the 1960s and 1970s made a dash for the printed frame-by-frame jokes or stories. On Sunday, they were in color, which made for a holy war before church. We took up arms, literally, to fight over who got to read the Sunday funnies before the other siblings. There was excitement for children learning to read because it meant access to the funny paper.

In 1912, at the age of 19, South Carolinian Alice Lee Humphreys began teaching school. Her career would span 30 years. In retirement, she published three books of beautifully written essays about six-year-olds. She referred to her students in these stories as Little Ones.

In the collection of essays found in “Angels in Pinafores” (the second of her three books), Humphreys shares a lesson learned too late about not trusting her proven instincts when it comes to teaching methods and recognizing what students need.

In summary, Donna is the little girl to whom Humphreys refers as the Little Maiden. On the first day of school, the veteran teacher is not only responsible for new First Graders such as Donna but also for The Observer—a student teacher who has been placed in her room. As I read the essay, I infer that the veteran teacher is known for her ability to inspire and motivate. In fact, during reading time, the experienced teacher uses the comics during Story Hour, much to the delight of the children. It comes as a shock to her however when, at the end of the day, The Observer criticizes the choice of reading material.

“With such abundance of good Literature,” the Student Teacher snorts, “I marveled that thou didst digress in such fashion.” It was obvious the younger education trainee viewed the funny paper as unacceptable curriculum.

The next morning, the Little Maiden brings a crumpled piece of newspaper with a Bugs Bunny cartoon. She asks the older teacher if she might read to the class as the teacher has done the day prior.

You might now be able to guess what took place the next two days during Story Hour. The veteran teacher loses her emotional compass momentarily and allows the student teacher’s words to alter her tried and true teaching methods. She lives to regret that choice.

Day Two comes for Donna and her new classmates. Their teacher does not read the comics. Day Three passes, and the Little Maiden has by this time resigned herself to the fact that the teacher is not going to pull the crumpled piece of paper from the drawer as promised. Day Four will not come for the little girl as a result of an unexpected health emergency.

Thus comes the twofold tragedy: that of a child’s death followed by a teacher’s grief. Her sadness if compounded by the fact that she has allowed herself to worry about the student teacher’s mockery of the comics as a teaching tool.

From this heartache, the wise teacher reminds herself of a valuable lesson and shares with the remorseful young teaching-in-training.

“In Teaching, one must dilute Exactness and exalt Understanding (p. 24, “Angels in Pinafores,” A. L. Humphreys, 1954)

Both mentor and studentteacher reflect and do better as the story ends.

The 2021–22 school year is coming to a close in less than a month. STAAR tests are looming and pressures mounting. As parents and teachers, may we find that balance of exactness and understanding by trying these tried and true ways of adulting the young: telling stories to our children, getting to know their interests outside of formal learning, coloring, nurturing creativity, debating, problem solving, and any other number of ways that translate to “reading the comics.”

Though academic accountability is vital, good test scores and a diploma will go to waste if adults do not genuinely connect with the young.

I am convinced children yearn for the type of knowledge that is a product of this one assurance—that the grownups in their lives care, listen and communicate respectfully and lovingly.

Snyder, Texas, native Sue Jane Sullivan is a retired schoolteacher whose thought-provoking commentary appears occasionally in several West texas newspapers, including The Texas Spur and The Caprock Courier.