An Interesting Character

This semester, I have a student, we'll call him Ham. Ham is a verbally expressive guy. He likes to share his opinions with the class and he keeps us all pretty entertained. He's what I would call an interesting character. You usually have at least one in each class.

Here are a few of my favorite Ham moments from this week.
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WHILE EXPLAINING THAT I HAVEN'T FINISHED GRADING THEIR TESTS...

Student 1: Did you grade our tests yet?

Me: Nope. I'm a terrible person. I kick puppies, drown kittens, & kill small children. I fell asleep early last night before grading the short answer sections. Maybe by tomorrow?

Ham: You do all of that?! We should start a group!

Me: What? An intervention group to keep me from destroying innocent lives?

Ham: NO! We all do that stuff too! It could be like a club.

Me: You know your a little crazy, right?

Ham: Definitely.

WHILE WRITING ON THE CHALK BOARD...

Me: (pointing to the board) So what is supply & demand??

Ham: Hey, Mrs. Frizzle?

Me: Yes?

Ham: You have chalk on your belly.

Me: (glancing between my chalk covered black shirted pregnant belly and the clear belly imprint on the board) Huh. I wonder how that could have happened...

IN MY CLASS TODAY...

Me: We've just learned about the different routes of the triangle trade established by the Europeans. Now I'm going to show you a short clip from the movie Amistad which depicts the Middle Passage from Africa to the West Indies. Does anyone have any questions before we begin?

Ham: Mrs. Frizzle?

Me: Yes, Ham?

Ham: I like you. I was thinking about it just now and I've decided I like you.

Me: Umm. Ok. Thanks. A bit random and not exactly related to the Middle Passage... But, I enjoy having you in class as well. Now, back to that clip...
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Just a few class moments from the daily life of a high school teacher.