Duckburg Schools

[Anders Christian Sivebaek]

Hello fellow fans!

Having been studying at a danish teacher's college for almost a year
now, I just spend some time thinking about schools in Duckburg. 

This subject has several aspects. First claim from me: There's not
often shown scenes or stories from Duckburg school in the weekly. I
mean we often see the ducks on adventures, doing things in their spare
time, having different jobs and so on. I of course remember some times
when school was the subject of eg. a Barks-story - but some of those
have truant officers as main charecters as HDL don't want to go to
school in those stories.  

I see something self-condradicting in the fact that the kids are often
shown as not wanting to go to school, and then, at the same time,
they're Junior Woodchucks, learning all kinds of things through that.
Oh - and being that they might not think they have any need for school
- as they can have it all at the JW's? Is that right or wrong of them? 

In another story by Barks that I read in danish in 1993 or so, the
danish caption in the splash panel (Want to buy an island?) almost made
me ... throw up. It says, HD and L actually like to go to school, it's
so funnyyyy. At the time (in all my years at school) I was mobbed in
school so I didn't agree. But the story showed how happy HDL were to
learn something. Later though, I saw the original splash panel's
caption, it says kindergarten... 

Maybe the fact that too many pupils are not happy about mobbing in
classes and pauses at school, explains a lot about why there aren't
many stories about it. Still I remember a quite good story where HDL
was confronted with one who wanted to mob others, and they try to do
something about it. In the end they make friends. I don't recall the
story code right now, sorry. 

I remember another story, which I read in the 80'es when I was myself
what I consider a child. Back then I wasn't so interested in artists
and all, I just enjoyed the stories like a good boy;-) Of course that
is the porpouse of the stories for most people, and the childlike ones
(the ones who are children, or a such at heart) too. The story was
about HDL having to write an essay for the next day, so they run to
Gyro to ask for an idea. He coincidentally invented a time-mashine
(quite normal thing for him to do at that period of stories) and the
story is about several accidents that the multi artist Limonardo da
Vimsi causes (The name would read Lemonado da Clumsy or such in
American, if the story is published in a Gladstone comic or such). My
reason for mentioning that is that I of course saw what was behind that
name: Leonardo da Vinci, and so, I suddenly knew a bit about him. 

I don't want to write too much about the studio-stories from the 60'es
even though some of them have school as subjects, where eg. Scrooge is
teacher in geography, Gyro in Chemistry and Grandma in Domestrial
Scinece (? - Home cooking?). I am not too fond of the stories made by
the Studio back then. 

I come to think of the school drawings Don Rosa made for Finland in
1999. The 1-page drawing of those shows HDL wishing they were at
school, and as they're JW's hunting for knowledge I would understand
that. Still, it's been said here that it's somewhat a gag drawing? How?
In the way that we think of Barks showing the kids not wanting to go to
school because they are JW's or what? From my point of wiev it wouldn't
be the slightest strange if HD&L would be very bright pupils. 

Maybe a problem is that they have been 10 years for how long? In the
stories we read today? If I had been in 4th grade, which is what we
attend at that age, where I live, for so many years I would be pretty
fed up with whatever it is they learn at that point. 

In connection with this, I also notice that the kids (HDL) are very
interested in the Internet and computers in some new stories, and as a
kind of answer to Søren, it doesn't botter me. I don't mind if every
writer or artist has his own wiev of Duckburg, I'll have one for every
writer or artist. If I eg. read a Don Rosa story, I am used to the fact
that the stories go on in the 50'es, and I read the Barks-stories more
or less the same way. Other stories can show HDL or Scrooge working
with internet or PC's as they're another kind of stories from my point
of wiev. The Scrooge of the firstmentioned kind of stories can't be
shown in a story in eg. the 90'es - not from my point of wiev. The
second-mentioned Scrooge is forever the age he was in his best years
with Barks, and HDL are 10 years old forever  - and this would be
possible because Duckburg is either stuck in time, or (whoa!) without
time - in those stories that is. 

So, coping with the fact (not fully accepting it) that I'm part of a
small minority of readers - socalled donaldists, who are very
interested in many different aspects of Duckburg - I wonder if the
usual reader would like it - or throw up - if he/she read about HDL in
school. Would it be okay to teach kids something through the Weekly?
Would it be fun to see HDL in school for a day - seeing what they
do/learn, what silly/wise teachers they have? The old codex (what not
to show and what to show) of Gutenberghus, the publisher in Denmark
before it was named back to Egmont,  said that a writer/artists
shouldn't make the stories so that any particular group would be hated.
They for some reason mentioned teachers (!), but if a writer/artist
shows teachers as they really are (some are good, some aren't) would it
be okay today?

Large () (I should tell that I've been member of the staff of the local
school paper for the last year. The school is not only teacher's
college, though it's known for that, but also a special danish high
school form taking 2 years (higher prepertaion-exam, hf in danish).
Many of the pupils and a few teachers subscribe to our paper, which
comes out 5 times a year or so. For the last 4 numbers I've written a
column, on this my favorite interest, Ducks - Chances are that I make
take this subkect, school, as the thing for the 2nd column next school
year (the first coming will be music in Duck comics)) End of ()

I challenge any writer/artist/donaldist/fan/reader to come up with
ideas on this, discuss or comment. 

(Stepping down from the sodapop-box)
A. C. Sivebaek
acsive at mail.mira.dk