Mr. Howell

"I see you haven't learned one thing about not acting like animals since you were in my class! That was a new level of embarrassment!"-Mr. Howell yelling at Tommy, Harvey, and Kellen "Now sit down, shut up, and watch the singing calculator!"-Mr. Howell Mr. Howell is a major antagonist turned anti-hero in the Origami Yoda series. He is a teacher at McQuarrie Middle school whose strict ways of teaching have made him unpopular among the students.

History
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

After Kellen accidentally gets his pants wet, he worries about being late to Mr. Howell's class, since he's showed up late various times during the school year and does not want to risk getting a referall. Acting on Origami Yoda's advice, Kellen gets all of his pants wet to make the not-pee stain less obvious. Mr. Howell questions why Kellen is so wet, but does not dwell on it.

Later, when Quavondo is bringing the bags of Cheetos he bought to the assembley, the other kids start running to the assembley so they won't miss out on the Cheetos. Mr. Howell yells at them not to run.

Darth Paper Strikes Back

In the second book, Mr. Howell first appears in a flashback to when Lance was trying to figure out what elective class to sign up for. He yells at Dwight to put Origami Yoda (who was giving Lance advice) away, then sends Dwight to ISS for folding his form into Origami Admiral Ackbar.

Later, Quavondo complains that they're gonna have to sell crap for the school fundraiser. Mr. Howell overhears him and gives him a lecture about how the school needs money to pay for electives, and how the money comes from the fundraisers. Luckily, Mr. Good Clean Fun starts his show, causing Mr. Howell to back off.

The Secret of the Fortune Wookie

When Harvey throws a tantrum over Tommy blowing his nose on his origami, Mr. Howell is the first teacher to get to them. He yells at them for making a scene at Mr. Good Clean Fun's assembley and sends them to Principal Rabbski's office.

The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppet

When the Funtime program begins, the students are assigned to new classrooms. Tommy and Kellen are assigned to Mr. Howell's classroom. Mr. Howell claims he doesn't like it any more than they do, and then begs them to stop making comments while watching the Funtime videos.

While Rabbski holds the pizza party, the rebel leaders are sent to Mr. Howell's room for a special Funtime episode.

Mr. Howell shows up at the parent-teacher conference Rabbski holds, with Tommy and Kellen saying that he's "Rabbski's backup." While Rabbski is telling the parents about Funtime, Howell uses a hidden remote to turn on the TV in the room and play Funtime. The parents find the show "egregious" and express their distaste over it.

The next morning, Mr. Howell reveals to Kellen that he was the one who turned on the TV, with the help of an origami Jabba the Hutt. Mr. Howell then comments that he always liked Jabba's style.

Princess Labelmaker to the Rescue

In the Funtime class, Mr. Howell is now muting the show within minutes of it coming on and telling his students to "do the fleeping worksheets in silence, too."

He later comes to the school board meeting, smuggling in a Flash drive with Funtime clips to show the school board. He sneaks on to Dr. Edu-Fun's computer and, at Rabbski's signal, plays the Funtime video for the school board to see. A school board member yells at him to return to his seat. Mr. Howell uses an origami Salicious Crumb to say, "Whatever you say, boss!" and then run back to his seat while leaving the video playing.

After Funtime is suspended, Mr. Howell becomes the new art teacher. Kellen tells Tommy that having Mr. Howell as an art teacher is giving him good ideas for a graphic novel.

Emperor Pickletine Rides the Bus

Mr. Howell is assigned to be a chaperone for the Washington D. C. field trip. When Tommy expresses a desire to ride on the same bus as Sara, Origami Yoda warns him that Mr. Howell will ride that bus too. Later, Cassie tells Tommy that the kids in Mr. Howell's group are afraid to even move.

At the Air and Space Museum, Tommy, Harvey, kellen, and Lance throw paper airplanes, one of which lands on Mr. Howell's head. Mr. Howell and a museum security guard corner the kids after one of the paper airplanes lands on a plane hanging from the ceiling. Dwight comes in with Fruitigami Yoda, who uses the Force to push the papaer airplane off the display plane. Mr. Howell leaves his group in the care of Mr. Good Clean Fun and takes Tommy's group to be under his supervision for the rest of the trip.

Mr. Howell then takes the troublesome group back to his bus, where they will stay for the rest of the day. On the way out, Mike talks Mr. Howell into letting him, Quavondo, Dwight, and Amy go to the gift shop. After the four of them pool their money to buy $150 worth of astronaut ice cream (on the advice of Fruitigami Yoda), Mr. Howell yells at them once again and marches them straight back to the bus.

Later on, the bus gets a flat tire, and the teachers and kids are stuck on the side of the road while the bus driver waits for the tow truck. Quavondo realizes that this was the reason why Fruitigami Yoda wanted him to buy the astronaut ice cream and distributes it to everyone on the bus. Mr. Howell apologizes for misjudging Quavondo.

When they stop at Wendy's, Mr. Howell says, "I love you," to Rabbski. She responds with "I know." And when the Twist comes on, the two of them dance together.

trivia

 * Kellen's drawings frequently depict Mr. Howell looking like Jabba the Hutt.


 * In the end, it is hinted that he may be in a relationship with Principal Rabbski.