Day -22: Being Funny

Though Juan is definitely the student in my class this year who demands the most attention, there are lots of other fascinating characters, too.

Take Alex, for example. He is obsessed with drawing SpongeBob and Captain Underpants characters; in December he drew me a whole SpongeBob Christmas scene. He always bids me farewell each day – every Friday, without fail, adding, “Have a great weekend.” In his school picture this year he is wearing a black t-shirt that says in white letters “Sometimes I Amaze Myself,” and he looks really, really amazed at himself in the picture. One day he asked me, apropos of nothing, “Do you know what Armageddon is?” He had been thinking about this and wanted to gauge whether I thought Armageddon was a real possibility in the near future, after ascertaining whether I was familiar with the concept. Another time, in the middle of something completely unrelated, he said, “Do you think we’re alone?” – as in are we alone in the universe or are there other life forms out there. You never know what he’ll say. (He’s also the maker of the harp seal drinking Coke and dreaming of a tropical paradise collage, for those who have been following the story.)

Today, when we came in the classroom, he started talking with another student about which team would win team points this week. Another student thought Team 3 might win, and Alex really disagreed. He offered a few reasons why, and then said forcefully, “I rest my case,” but under his breath added, “whatever that means.”

“I rest my case,” is the kind of idiomatic English that my students rarely use, but Alex just decided to try it out anyway – and nailed its usage on the head without even knowing it. I cracked up so much at this unexpected expression coming out of Alex’s mouth that Alex started cracking up, and soon that whole side of the room was laughing.

My class this year is by far the funniest class I have ever taught. A lot of other teachers complain about this particular group of students and how challenging they are, but sometimes I think it’s just because they’re so funny. There are at least five students who want nothing more than to make everyone laugh.

I was telling the group of students who were eating lunch with me today how funny I thought they were, and I asked if they thought I was funny. They all nodded. I told them that I’m not sure all my classes thought I was funny – but maybe it’s because my other classes weren’t as funny, I added.

***

Juan made up another joke today as we were eating turkey sandwiches for lunch. “Where do turkeys come from?” he asked us.

“Where?” we asked.

“Kenturkey,” he said proudly.

My students all know I grew up in Kentucky, and they are endlessly fascinated by that fact. Kentucky seems like Oz to them - or Pluto or Zanzibar. They have no idea what it’s like, and it has a mesmerizing hold on them.