Teacher laughs as students roast his vote appeal— but their joke is now making him America's favorite

However silly they may be, students often indulge in lighthearted humor to poke fun at their teachers. These humorous interactions are not meant to be disrespectful but to show admiration beyond a formal connection. Similarly, some students found a quirky yet funny way to honor one of their educators at school. The teacher of mathematics, Cody Westphal—who goes by u/Sufficient_Long_3905 on Reddit—recently shared how a classroom interaction turned into a hilarious sight. The overzealous students roasted Westphal’s vote appeal to become America’s Favorite Teacher. To his luck, his post went viral, leading to him becoming the front-runner in the race in a close contest.

It began when Westphal’s vote appeal to win the country-wide competition was played during one of his classes. The maths teacher was surprised to see some students creatively editing his picture projected on the whiteboard. “I might win a national teaching contest because of my students, and you can see I have their full respect!” he wrote in the post’s caption. The picture showed Westphal’s formal work photo being playfully mocked by his students. At the same time, they were encouraging their batchmates and friends to vote for him in huge numbers.

On a whiteboard with some mathematical formulas written on it, a student attempted to caricature the subject teacher’s picture. Like other students, they added exaggerated, humorous depictions emphasizing certain features, like a wild hairline, hair growing out of his ears, and a blackened tooth. Additionally, the doodle wasn't complete without simple, comical jokes about Westphal’s huge forehead. “Calculate the area,” they innocently wrote, drawing a red-colored box between the teacher’s hairline and the front of his head. The pupils joked that the gap between his receding hairline and his forehead was at least two feet wide.

The students attempted to reimagine Westphal's missing hairline to cover the bald spots on his head. In the meantime, they also asked their fellow batchmates to vote for the teacher in the Pan-American contest. To help Westphal secure the top spot, they shared a website where anyone could sign up and vote by paying one dollar each. The educator took the mocking session sportingly and even took it online to share his unconventional bond with the students.

“As a math teacher, I have the honor of fostering enthusiasm, engagement, and a passion for math in those who will become America’s future,” Westphal said, per the competition’s official website. Moreover, he asked students to vote for him in huge numbers to emerge as America's Favorite Teacher. Notably, the winner would take home $25,000, win a trip to Hawaii, and appear in Reader's Digest. Voting would remain open until March 6, 2025, at 7:00 PM, and those interested were advised to pick their top 20 teachers, added the competition's official website.

"In their defense, ‘calculate the area’ on my big ol’ forehead is objectively hilarious. I’m 100% doing this for the kids, not myself, so the most lucrative prize is the school visit from Bill Nye the Science Guy. I’ve already promised to donate the $25K to the school and give them the Hawaii trip to auction/raffle for more funds,” Westphal wrote in the comments. When u/Ok_Internal9395 emphasized, “Lol, they added hair to you and still fit ‘calculate the area,’” Westphal responded, “Literally something the students pointed out after doing it and had themselves almost in tears laughing.” When u/JNewman_13 asked, “Oh, you're the 'math is rad' teacher!" He replied, “Yes!! And being recognized as the 'math is rad' teacher is like a dream come true.”