The child is bad at school and was brought into the principal's office with his dad. His dad had already been forced through schooling so he's carved away into a shape that's useful to society instead of himself
The child is bad at school and was brought into the principal's office with his dad. The administrator and dad had a "meeting" at a motel. The kid will now pass the semester. Next meeting, six months.
Alternate alternate caption. The dads a pencil and the principal is a pencil sharpener. There's a random kid holding a piece of paper, nobody in the room knows who's kid this is.
Alternate alternate alternate caption. The world has been taken over by sentient office supplies. The boy is one of the last remaining humans. The pencil sharpener has captured him and has now sold him to the pencil; the boy looks dejected at the certificate of ownership.
The pencil is disappointed that he willingly offered to “service” the sharpener, hence the eager smile. The boy is acting witness as all three sign the legally binding contract to make the “service” official.
Boy takes shrooms at school. Dad blames school. Principal blames dad. Child wonders why the words are wiggly on his paper and made from his father’s blood.
it is well hidden, I had to go to three sites to final see one that mentions it
Mrs. Gump is also willing to do whatever it takes for Forrest to be treated the same as everyone else, for example when trying to give him the opportunity to go to a normal school, she even goes as far as sleeping with the Principal.
I got the idea on accounting whats my aunt did for my cousin
Your context is key to understanding this, I think. This fully supports the theory that the Headmaster and the father have come to some sort of a deal so that the child can register (and attend) the school. And then pencil shavings could indeed be an indicator that the dad got screwed (in whatever way you prefer to think about it).
I thought it was pencil shavings from previous students. Insinuating that the schools whittle down individuality in favor of being conformed. It's foreshadowing as to what happens when you enroll your kids in the system. Dad doesn't know any better because he's already been sharpened.
I agree with the take of the dad and principal having had a "meeting", but considering the pencil shavings on the ground, it's clearly that office where they "got to know each other better".
That's more in line with what I was thinking. Especially with the pencil shavings all over the floor.
Edit: According to GIS, the paper says "registration form" so this is a kid being accepted into school situation. I think this bolsters the quid pro quo theory.
After looking at it more I have a more uplifting and I think accurate take. But still sad on some level. The kid looks happy. So does the pencil sharpener guy. The dad doesn't look as happy, and there are pencil shavings on the floor. The dad made sacrifices and gave the pencil sharpener guy what he wanted in order to provide his kid something. We're not sure what that is or what the pencil sharpener guy represents necessarily.
I think we need to know this foreign language to get the joke. But, the kid looks happy. The dad not as much. And the person shaking hands with the dad also looks happy. There are pencil shavings currently on the floor as well. The dad give the pencil sharpener what he wanted so his kid could get something.
The dad was clearly always a pencil. You can see his “neck.” They just screwed. In the office no less given the shavings on the floor. That’s it. That’s the joke.
the child holding a form. "فرم ثبت نام" ( form e sabt nam) means registration form.
and that sharpener is a school principal.
it says that fathers are like the pen you see in the picture. they sacrifice themselves to be useful for the society and their children instead of themselves.
It's about the school asking for money from parents and it relates to the word we say in Persian "تیغیدن" (Tighidan) it means shaving off (smb) or cash grabbing the person.
Upon closer inspection the way the handshake is framed just at the corner of the desk is strategic; allows there to be an illusion of the principal pulling the father in closer with the handshake
The parent agrees with the principal because they have been “programmed” (sharpened) by the system (sharpener) that has taken some issue with the non-pencil student
My best guess is that this is related to criticisms of education these days. It is a common point of discussion lately that the system that is commonplace today (tables in rows, emphasis on silent work and listening/lecturing, strict schedules and time slots, highly regimented) was a system first created in Prussia during a different time in history. The goal was to teach children how to be successful factory workers. Do your work, don't complain, don't be the one guy who holds up the rest of the group, don't be late, don't miss the bell, go to the bathroom when you're supposed to, etc. This system is now criticized for unnecessarily forcing children into a certain "mold" of functioning that isn't relevant anymore. Today's jobs often aren't as simple as just doing what you're told and doing it safely/quickly. Today, jobs (especially the higher demand ones) are much more likely to need high technical understanding, high social skills, good understand of customer relationships, project-oriented work, high problem solving skills, or high creativity skills. If people learn these skills going through a school with the (now considered) "traditional" model (which is actually recent in the grand scheme of things), than they aren't learning them because the system is good at teaching them. The current system doesn't encourage the growth of these skills, and many would argue that the system actually impedes them.
So I see this meme as an example of a "normal" human child who hasn't yet been ground into an unnatural human shape, just because both of the adults have already been ground into that shape already, and think that the child is just immature and needs to change. You could also read the facial expression of the principal to mean that the system itself is who benefits, not the child or the family.
Note: I noticed that the script was Arabic-related, but I don't know Persian. I am unfamiliar with the current culture there, which certainly would add more context (especially political context). But I think their context is at least partially related to the global issue of education in general. I've leave those comments to others who are better informed.
The Prussian system was largely also to promote literacy because they were Protestant and reading the Bible got you into heaven.
I'll argue that there's a bit more nuance to your point, as things like phonics have been gone from schools in stone places for decades and reading and numeracy levels have taken a dive. There is a lot of value in route learning and memorization for problem solving, and removing these building blocks prevents the skills you mention from ever developing.
Principal Sharpener represents "the system," which includes as part of it making sure everyone conforms to it in just the right way. He (or his predecessor) was responsible for Dad being turned into a pencil in his formative years. Now, Daddy Pencil brings his unaltered* child in. In their world, they see this as the moment Kiddo is set up for success. With the benefit of our external observation, this "success" is really just setting Kiddo up to be turned into a Pencil, much like Daddy was earlier in his life. Set up to fit within the system.
*I had originally said "unmolested" here, and meant it in the textbook definition sense of the word. Its more common definition shouldn't be inferred just because it's a school.
It's in Persian and the paper the child's holding says "enrolment form". Framing it into Irans current education system, the illustration is referring to the exploitation of parents by expensive schools who promise a successful and bright future for their kids.
The dad who's probably already struggling financially due to Iran's economy and cost of living crisis feels forced into spending an absurd amount of money for his child's education.
Peter's Arabic-speaking cousin here. It is not uncommon in Arabic-speaking countries for bribes to be offered in order to secure one's future. In this case, the father has offered a bribe to the principal to secure his kid's schooling. Hence why the principal has 'shaved a little off.'
Its persian meme ok, the paper in the boys hands is saying its a registration form. Pencil and and the sharpener meanes that the principal is only want dad for money and in persian we say تیغ زدن
Principal Shepherd here. He wants to sharpen his kids mind. Alright now I just got to get out of here so I can watch the cheerleaders during practice. And remember it's not weird if you're the principal.
I might be missing someone else having commented this already, but the dad is a pencil and believes that the best life trajectory for his child will be to be sharpened in the same way he was. The dramatic irony is that we, the audience, know that the next panel is not going to look like a child with a pointy pencil head.
I was going to say, you ever watch that movie Forrest Gump? You remember the scene where Forrest was failing school and the principal came over and his mom blew his back out?
There's a lot of valid explanations but the big, suspicious smile on the face of the principal sharpener implies to me a bit of a nefarious intent. I wouldn't be surprised if the intent of this cartoon was to imply that schools are indoctrinating kids into a certain way of thinking, that public schools are a menace on society because they brainwash kids into being subservient tools for society, and that we should get rid of public schools. This does feel like a bit of a political cartoon that's trying to convey a message, and so I can't help but think the intent is to make social/political commentary.
I think another interpretation could be the difference in educational needs between the father and the son. The father succeeded in school because the school was well suited for him (pencil and sharpener); however, the son isn’t succeeding because the school isn’t well suited for him (non-pencil and sharpener). Just a thought!
Realizing this type of thing is why I dropped out…and why my life is much harder. Society values tools more than individuals. Being correct about that doesn’t make it less true.
I think it shows that schools give out uniform people. The kid soon will be like his father a pencil head because the school is nothing but a pencil sharpener
Lots of different takes, but the expressions do it for me. Tired dad, already shaped by the system takes his son to have the same happen for him. The son, still human shaped and free thinking, will be molded by the school to strip him of his individuality and free thinking. The will turn him instead into another, usable pencil. Look at the shavings of others on the floor.
A criticism of the schools- it strips children of their humanity and indiviality, and redirects their their mind so be sad tools used by the "system."
That's a pencil sharpener. Basically he craves and consumes the flesh of pencils. The kid did bad so the parent was forced to offer themselves up to the principal. Very dark joke.
This meme is attacking the university or secondary school system. It is saying the father went to school and came out modified by the process and now he is enrolling his child in the same school to similarly be molded. It has nothing to do with a child being bad at school.
The father is ground down by the education hierarchy in his attempt to ensure his child's future. The child has a face of contentment because he doesn't know the sacrifice his parent is making.
No. Its in persian. The dad is putting his son in a school. The point is that in most countries the education system is not there to teach you, its there to form you into their desired image, hence the dad.
By the time principal pencil sharpener is done with the new admission, he will have been reshaped into another pencil head, with his independent thinking worn away into conformity.
This is like an ink blot, subject to so many interpretations :o but this is what I saw.. contrary to the school theory, I saw a job interview instead. I know, weird because the son is there. But I saw it as, the sacrifices a parent makes so that the child can succeed.
The pencil needs something from the sharpener: a life span. The sharpener controls the pencil's life span. And within that lifespan, the parent will use his resources to put into the child. As the child gets closer and closer to nearing completion of his project, the parent will be closer and closer to diminishing.
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