ABSTRACT
“What is that smell in your room?” The “college prep” English teacher had walked over from across the hall after my “general” English students had exited my classroom. I noticed for the first time the familiar, though not unpleasant, smell of smoked ham. It was the beginning of November, and the families of my students had begun to heat their homes with wood furnaces. The students carried with them through the school day, clinging to clothes and hair and emanating from the pores of their skin, the smell of smoke and sweat. This was also the time of year when my high school students, often in charge of stoking the fire several times during the night, would fall asleep in class or fight to stay awake in many classes that seemed irrelevant to their immediate concerns.
