My eighth-grade social
studies teacher was an older woman named Mrs. Anderson. She didn't
seem to like me – maybe she thought I had a bad attitude – and
maybe I did. When I think back on it now, I most likely had a mousy
expression on my face every day while sitting there not participating
in class discussion – that's enough to give a teacher an
attitude!
The only other thing I
remember about that class was the assignment one day to draw a
political cartoon.
So it must have been
American history we were studying that year – because the day of
the assignment the topic was something that was going on, I think in
Andrew Jackson's day, and Congress could not agree on anything, a not
too unfamiliar state of affairs considering all the can we reach
across the aisles? talk prevalent in Congress these days.
My
political cartoon was a top hat sitting upside down on a table with
cobwebs all over it from having sat there so long – the hat was
labeled Ballot Box – and the look of disuse was to
illustrate how long it had been since Congress had put anything
to a vote!
The purpose of the
assignment was to exercise our understanding of the concept of
political cartoon combined with the unit we were studying at the
time. My finished product supplied the subtle irony of the political
cartoon mixed with my own lack of artistic skills – all I had drawn
was a hat with a label and a table and cobwebs.
The next day we each had
to present our political cartoon to the class. I showed them what I
had drawn and gave what I thought was a very straightforward
explanation about the unused hat illustrating the lack of action in
Congress.
The class looked
confused!
How could that be – it was so simple!
One boy finally raised
his hand and wanted to know what the stuff was on the hat and table
and room – I looked at the picture and said, “You mean the spider
webs?”
Everyone looked even more confused – why were there
spider webs on the picture?
Finally, one of my
friends started laughing loudly and derisively and said, “does
she mean cobwebs?”
There is a difference
between spider webs and cobwebs?
I guess spider webs
implies spiders are about and active, and cobwebs implies
disuse as in a room that has not been occupied in a while – even by
spiders?
Those were the two
lessons that I learned from eighth-grade social studies – say
cobwebs instead of spider webs in conversation, and
being laughed at derisively by someone I thought was a friend can
still hurt all these many years later.
149 20150529 Spider Web
Ballot Box
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