Ho do you pronounce it???

So, today marks our fifth day of school. An entire week complete, and the realization that this class already knows me too well has sunk in. To get my students in ability focused reading groups (aka....fast/slow groups) I have to do an individual reading assessment of each student. They come and read a word list to me until it is so painful for both of us that I tell them they did and excellent job and they may stop. After 19 of these I was ready to stab myself or someone close to me with a pencil..but thats another story completely. Anyway, its not that surprising that a commonly mis-read word is the word "how". More often than not it is read "ho" with that long O. So the mispronunciation was not a surprise to me...what did make me stop was how accusatory my students sounded as they said "ho". It took a great deal of restraint for me not to respond with "Am not!" So now I sit here wondering if that reaction is normal...or if maybe I have some issues that I should deal with. Nah....my new students are just mean and that is all there is to it. But don't worry, I'll get them in line in no time!