In Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick, what does Freak call his English class?

Freak calls his English class a zoo.

We'll find this answer toward the very end of the book, in Freak's Dictionary, the special section of word definitions and jokes created by the character Freak. There, under the word "ZOO," this definition appears: "an eighth-grade English class."

Why does Freak think his class is like a zoo? In other words, how does Freak's English class resemble a place where wild animals are kept?

Look back to Max and Kevin's first few days of school, in Chapter 12, when they attend Mrs. Donelli's English class for the first time, and notice how all the other kids shout and scream and hurl insults at Max when the teacher simply asks him to stand and tell the class something about his summer vacation. That wild, messy, loud behavior is a lot like what you'd expect from zoo animals!