Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for August 10, 2011

Since when do elementary school children have class periods?

It is for the aggressor, Calvin.

what the hell!

Some coaches were like that…

calvin is hopeless against moe.

I doubt there’s anyone Moe’s own size to pick on. He looks like he’s been held back a few years at least.

When my sons were little boys I wanted them to learn Judo. After the second lesson the teacher called me. I was curious what he would want from me. He said" Take your boys put them their clothes on and go home". I asked “Why”, for I wanted them to learn Judo. He said, he can do nothing with them, they stand besides the mat and say " bad people, such bad people, that are bad people!" – I could do nothing, too, I put on their clothes and went home!

For four years I had the high school wrestling coach as my gym instructor. Forty years have not removed the smell of those vintage wrestling mats from my nose. Hey, anyone have a good lawyer (oximoran)?

Calvin should start packing a .44 Magnum. "…You feel lucky, punk? Well……Do you!!??

Poor Twinky…I mean Calvin…he will be scared for life.

They still have those in the playground?

So why Cal don’t like Gym class.?….really maybe it must be better health

It’s not?

’I doubt there’s anyone Moe’s own size to pick on. He looks like he’s been held back a few years at least."As Moe himself says in a later strip, “They fight back.”

“Coach thinks violence is aerobic” — he doesn’t want to get the blood pumping, he wants to see it spurting!

Moe is a Stooge. Pun intended.

If you make the assumption that Calvin is actually 14 and in high school, the strip takes on new overtones.

Elementary schools have class periods to get kids to lunch rooms, computer rooms, libraries, gym (or recess), arts & crafts, and other special purpose, shared rooms. I didn’t check. Someone has probably anticipated me.

I always hated gym class as well. I once ripped the tendons between my rib cage on the parallel bars and experienced great pain, yet my gym teacher still insisted that I climb the rope. When the class was over I couldn’t even open my locker door. I was out of commission for three weeks.

Feign sickness and call the nurse, Calvin. Works all the time.

Oh yeah, forgot the separation for PE, music, band & computer classes. Let’s see that makes 8 periods in the day. Of course in our schools those classes the kids stay with their main class only.

Skip it Calvin.. If you can!

xxx

“coach thinks violence is aerobic”actually getting pounded breathless by a bully would be anaerobic – especially if he was choking you out.

P.E. is hell if you lack coordination and/or have zero aptitiude for sport activities. I tried to get out of it, but no avail.

Gym is a wasted period. Just let us out earlier. We’ll find our own activities. ;-)

Bah, Gym Coaches! Who needs ’em!

I have always loved the two different fonts Bill Watterson used. And I didn’t know Twinkies could be used to make hamburger casserole.

Use brain power sooner or later your going to get that bully good.in the meantime try and get on the track team.

Just say Moe to violence.

Nowadays they have ways to deal with bullies, don’t they? Altho I was only thinking of Moe, but after reading the comments I realized that Coach was one too. I saw something about it on PBS, where they taught children just to speak up, quietly but firmly, and it helps if everybody agrees, not just you. I’m not quite sure I believe this can work. If they conducted a survey, I bet a fantastic percentage of people would be found to have been bullied at least once.

Reading this strip and its associated commentary has reminded me of an experience I had in High School. It turns out that one afternoon I was invited by someone to go to the school’s gym, where two big strapping kids were beating the daylights out of each other, with blood flying all over the place. It turned out that they both claimed the affections of a woman, and our coaches decided to let them settle the matter mano e mano in the gym. Every male in the school watched this insanity. As it turned out, a few days later, somewhere else, they went at each other again. If memory serves, and it all too frequently doesn’t, the young lady left them both alone and went her way – a good decision on her part, I daresay.

My reaction was, if they were too young to put on their own clothes, they were too young to be taking Judo classes in the first place.

It regulated soon!

It sure looks like the real problem is that Moe is overlarge for the class (perhaps “kept back”?)—if so, it would be better, but perhaps difficult—if he was to go to gym with his size group.

He’s wrong