Charlie Brown is one of those down on his luck characters that just can’t seem to catch a break. Nothing about this show is hyper-energetic or a fun-filled romp. Just a depressed boy who can’t get into the spirit of Christmas because of all the commercialization that accompanies it. Top that off with a group of wonderful friends who continually mock him and call him a blockhead. They even complain how he is going to ruin the Christmas play simply because he is the director. Wow, what great pals.

My favorite part of this show is the ending sequence of events. Charlie Brown gets tormented for buying a weak-looking Christmas tree, which coincidentally was the only live tree available to purchase. He decides he isn’t going to let anyone ruin his Christmas anymore and goes into his backyard with the tree.

His so-called friends come to the realization that they’ve been too hard on him and follow Charlie Brown to his house. There they find the lonely tree and decorate it with the ornaments found on Snoopy’s doghouse. Charlie Brown reappears and is greeted with an arousing, “Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!” Then they all break out in song to “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.”

For the longest time I could never figure out why this particular part was always my favorite until just a few days ago after viewing it again. Charlie Brown constantly leads a miserable life, distressed about the surroundings of his world. Finally, ignoring these aspects of life that he has no control over saves his holiday. Doing this brings him closer to the spirit of Christmas, and also closer to his friends. Plus it’s the only part in the show where he is smiling gleefully and throwing his arms out in joy. It could bring a tear to a glass eye.

Oh, the credits also list a staff position as “Graphic Blandishment.” What a great phase. I have to use that some time.

Actually, I called my boss and it was locked in her office for some reason. I guess someone else wanted to use it and took it from the cupboard. Thanks for making life complicated mysterious stranger!

This was the day when everyone finally got to present their finished comics to the rest of the class. Before that, I gave them a decent amount of time to finish them up if needed. During this time they told me they enjoy their time in class because they can act “stupid.” They said it, not me. Basically, I let them babble on about whatever and act like crazy people. I told them if they like I can yell and tell them to be quiet and get to work. They were not fans of that idea.

Finally the conclusion of class arrived and it was time to present. They all sounded excited to share their comics. I actually had to play rock-paper-scissors with them to see who would present first. Their presentation skills included pointing at their comics with their backs turned to everyone. They also read as quickly as possible while stuttering.  The kids were not aware of it, but I was preparing them for the uncomfortable future of public speaking.

All of the kids left pretty excited and some of them said they wanted to take the class again. They even told me they might have some friends that would be interested too. Well, that was good to hear. I need as much practice as possible when it comes to dealing with kids.

The class usually has conversations about various shows or movies they have seen, but this week was a little different. Two of the kids started taking about what they were learning in their classes and how many tests they have. Before I knew it, they started turning the conversation into a “My school is better than your school” discussion. I told them to not turn it into a contest and save it for the football game and the class laughed. They got my joke! I was so proud of them. Or was I proud of myself?

Another student made a comment about a television show being made back in the 19-somethings. My first thought was to say something along the lines of “19-what? There are a lot of years in there.” Then I realized she was not even alive during the 20th century. If you want to feel old, try talking to some kids.
Next class is the final one and I’m looking forward to seeing them present their comics to each other. It seems like they have been enjoying their time and they sounded kind of disappointed when I reminded them it was almost over. I’m taking that as a good sign and there is nothing you can do to make me think otherwise.

Her son seemed like a nice kid, but it was very obvious in the first two seconds I observed him that he had more energy than the Micro Machines guy jacked up on caffeine. I think it had something to do with his random babbling and pacing back and forth of the room. Anxiety starting taking over my body and I had to quickly make a decision. Do I tell the mom that it’s too late? The negative being that she paid for a class that her kid never attended, but I have the satisfaction of not dealing with a high-energy child. Or do I let him stay for the remaining class periods and regret life? It’s a simple decision, right?

Well, I cracked under pressure and let him stay. I know, wrong choice. I could say something along the lines of, “I’m always up for a challenge!” but really I was just thinking to myself, “Oh dear God, what have I done?”

Class began and I tried to get the new student up to speed with everyone else. I handed him some newsprint and showed him the storyboard we made as a class on the first day. I told him to just make a rough draft of a comic and then we can get him started on the final paper. He just started drawing and talking, and didn’t stop doing either. He went on about comics, games, books, and everything else. It was kind of overwhelming me at first, but then I realized he was done with his storyboard. Then he ended up completing four classes worth of work in one day.

I was living in fear of a kid who was a human power plant when really he just needed something to focus on. From his random spontaneous conversations with himself, it sounded like he makes comics all day long. I guess that explains why he managed to complete four weeks worth of work in one hour. I spoke with his mom after class and she asked how he was with a worried look on her face. Her fears turned into relief when I told her how he managed to catch up with everyone else.

It turns out the new kid wasn’t as bad as I thought he would be and I was just caught off guard by his flailing about. On the way home I felt completely exhausted and I was only around him for an hour. I can only imagine what it’s like being a teacher who deals with twenty kids like that every day, all year long. My new plan in life is to punish my child if she ever shows any signs of being high-energy. It will be my little favor to the rest of the world.

The activity of the day consisted of inking over their original pencil lines. A process that can be time consuming, but when you want to make a comic you have to make sacrifices. Before, I mentioned how having the class use rulers was a failed experiment. Now I think the class may have realized why I ruined their day. To help the students quickly move along I used the ruler again and inked over the pencil lines of their frames. One of them commented how nice it looks. Mission accomplished! They got it!

My favorite part of the class was when we talked about Punch-Out for the Wii. I finally got to brag to a bunch of kids about how awesome I am at video games. I asked them if they beat Donkey Kong and none of them knew what I was talking about. I explained to them how you could unlock a harder difficulty and then you can fight the stupid monkey himself. It was pretty gratifying being the coolest guy in the room for a few minutes.

That ended as soon as we started talking about scary movies and I mentioned that Wizard of Oz is pretty terrifying. “What?” That was the response I got. I tried to explain that the witch didn’t use a fake nose but they wouldn’t listen. My biggest fear as a kid was met with ridicule. Well, so much for being the cool guy in the room.

As I was trying to hold back my tears, my hazy vision noticed the end of class had arrived. Saved from continuous mockery, the class left as I told them the plan for the following week. Some of them are more reluctant to start coloring than others, but they should enjoy it nevertheless. Well, I’ll have to make them if they don’t.

My expectations were surpassed, as they were all ready to transfer their comics onto the final paper. This is where things fall apart faster than a wood-block town being invaded by the son of Godzilla. I had them gather around so I could show them how to use a ruler to measure out their paper. Immediately, I started to confuse them by making dots all around the paper and then connecting them with the ruler. The goal was to show them how to make straight and clean frames, but instead I succeeded at draining all the fun out of drawing. It seems that instructing young kids to make specific measurements all over a sheet a paper is a terrible idea. For the sake of speeding things along, I asked them how they want their frames and measured it all out for them. It’s pretty safe to say kids would rather freehand their own frames instead of making life difficult and painstakingly measure things for half the class.

Once that debacle was over, the class started drawing their comics. For the sake of conversation, I thought I would give them some information about Spongebob. They were either going to find this interesting or be devastated like when they find out Santa Claus isn’t real. I told them how the man who dresses up as a pirate is actually the voice of Spongebob, and then ducked under the table into a fetal position. My fear of tears was meet with energetic discussions about various Spongebob episodes. Pre-determined tragedy was averted!

The dismissal of class was met with disappointment, so I’m calling the second session a success. Either that or they are scared of their homes. There is one thing that is bothering me about this experience. I’ve noticed I start acting like some kid intoxicated with a sugar overdose that just watched a Ninja Turtles episode. After a while my girlfriend had to ask me to stop. If she finds that annoying, just wait until our child gets older. I’ll be acting goofy for years to come!

You can only imagine the disappointment I felt when I was told you have to interact with the students and teach them something every class. This wasn’t what I signed up for! But it was too late. It was time for me to suck it up and do the one thing that everyone avoids like the plague: Work.

In the tradition of standard education, I created a handout that suggests some tips for their comics. Things like the line of motion, line weight, using text as sound, and a few others. Also, in the tradition of standard education, I bored the kids out of their minds going over said handout. Lucky for me I planned ahead. Next on the agenda was the interactive portion of class.

With my fist of authority in the air, I commanded the kids to gather around the table. I was about to show them the first step in creating a comic: The Storyboard.  To get the group’s imaginations flowing, I had them name a character for the story. Gary was unanimously selected. Next I asked them, “Who is Gary?” “Spongebob’s snail!” they squealed. My trick worked. They were throwing out story suggestions faster than I could write them down.

There was a portion of time where it turned into me drawing various Spongebob characters by request, but it was all in good fun. It has been a while since I’ve actually sat down and watch the show, so they had to describe Squidworth to me. It made me feel like a sketch artist trying to reproduce an eyewitness’ description. The kids were impressed with the results, so I guess I did a good job!

After our group storyboard session came to an end it was time for them to create their own. It was kind of amusing watching them draw their comic frames with stick people in them. The class is for 8-12 year old kids, so it’s not like I’m expecting Jim Lee caliber illustrations. The oldest of the bunch is particularly good, though. Perhaps I should make her experience miserable and say I expect much more out of her.

At the end of the day, I would say my inauguration into the world of education was a success. The class said they all had fun and left pretty excited. Now I have to think of a way to make the next class interactive. Man, teaching is hard.