If my students are focused and worked hard during math class, I allow them to spend 3 minutes writing anything they want on their whiteboards.
Oftentimes they draw less than flattering pictures of me.
It’s hilarious.
But recently, I’ve been teaching them that if they’re going to be cruel to me, they should at least find a way of doing it with some artistry, so I introduced them to the word “subtle” and explained that some of the best jokes in the world are the subtle ones.
Jokes that say a lot with very little.
These three caught my eye recently.
On the gravestone, please note that my sense of humor was born and died in the same year – 1970 – implying that I never had a sense of humor.
Also, my student missed the correct date of my birth by just one year, which makes this joke even more impressive.
In the “Snakes” drawing, I asked my student, “But where are the snakes?”
“Under the water,” she said. “Where they belong. Where you can’t see them. More terrifying that way. See? Subtle.”
But my favorite was the picture of the simple flower, bent over and looking so sad.
A perfectly subtle way of telling me how joyless and awful I am.
I love these kids so much.
