Humor, once again

As we approach the end of the school year, my students know me very well. Of course, I know them better than they realize. Everything just seems funnier now.

This story took place in a recent math lesson. My students are not allowed to speak Spanish in my class at all, but they frequently have to ask what words are. I was asking my students how to subtract some numbers and Nicolas raised his hand. He asked me, "How do I say prestar?" (This is the word for borrow and my students are always asking me this when they need pencils and erasers - a frequent situation.) I was in a goofy mood from too much caffeine or not enough sleep or both, so I threw him an eraser without knowing if that's what he needed. He said no, so I threw him a pencil, a pencil sharpener, a stapler, my water bottle and eventually everything else I had in reach. The students were howling at the spectacle of it, but Nicolas really brought the house down when I finally asked what he wanted to borrow. He was answering my question and wanted to borrow from the tens column. Everyone understood what he'd said and we all lost it.

Their written work often contains nuggets of humor to get me through the boring hours of marking. Here are two recent examples:

In an attempt to write a sentence using the word genius, Carlos wrote, "I is a genius." It brings a smile to my face every time I think about it. Carlos is pictured on the right.

Another recent gem came up three times by three different students. In response to a question about which church the Queen is the head of, three students wrote, "The crutch of England." Although it wasn't always spelled correctly, it was still a striking coincidence especially given that the described the church has sometimes been described as a crutch.