And He’s A Homo Sapien

(In a fourth-grade classroom, the students are 9-11 years of age.)

Student #1: “Miss, she just called me a mammal!”

Teacher: “Um… [Student #1], you are a mammal.”

Student #1: *outraged tone* “What?! I am NOT!”

Teacher: “Well… what are the characteristics of a mammal? They have live babies, fur or hair, the mommies make milk for the babies…”

Student #1: “I still don’t think that’s right.”

(It took another 10 minutes and a visit to Wikipedia before he was convinced.)