Using An Antenna
Years ago, when I began teaching in New York City, my first assignment included an extra five hundred dollars because the school carried the designation— problem area school. At the initial meeting for all the new teachers— half the staff— instructions included how to write on the blackboard while facing the class, what not to wear, and when to ring for assistance.
Except for a few students my classes did not turn into hotbeds of destructive behavior. Once I realized that many in the class could not read adequately to decipher the middle school text —a moratorium existed. Instead of dealing with their frustration I began to teach reading—using comic books.
Several students couldn’t care about deciphering words unless those words led to a description of weapons. Superman wore a cape around school and ran a protection racket in the cafeteria. Pay or keep going to the end of the lunch line. He kept order so no one took him on.
Many of the teacher’s cars had missing antennas —used to make Zip Guns. Superman made a living making and selling Zip Guns and slingshots that also used antennas, but with little accuracy.
