‘Old Speckled House Fart’

To save running to the copier, which is a far hike from my classroom, I write most of my quizzes on the board. I always say to my students, “Don’t waste your time copying the questions. I just need the answers.” And I always have one student who ignores me and copies the questions anyway. Unfortunately, he never fails to transcribe several words wrong.

Today’s quiz on Sing Down the Moon included this question: “What did they use the old speckled horse for?”

The kid who always writes the questions, despite my repeated injunctions not to, rendered the question this way: “What did they use the old speckled house fart?”

He even managed to supply an answer—which made no more sense than his question!

Because one picture is worth a thousand words, I’m tempted to ask him to draw an accurate representation of an old speckled house fart.

Kid Talk

Two sixth-grade girls are hanging around my desk at day’s end.

Q-Girl: Mister, what’s your middle name?

Me: I don’t have a middle name, just a middle initial.

Q-Girl: Poor thing!

Me: It’s OK, I’m happy that way.

T-Girl: Oh, just call him “Princess.”