Miss Hoover is a secondary character on
The Simpsons. She teaches the
second grade at
Springfield Elementary. Among the students in her class are
Lisa and
Ralph, as well as some other incredibly minor characters.
Throughout the series' fifteen seasons, no mention has been made of Miss Hoover's first name. She, like her colleague, Edna Krabappel, is a smoker. It can also be inferred that Miss Hoover has little interest in her work, as she often uses busywork (including films and "magazine time") to occupy her students as opposed to actually teaching them. She also left the school rather quickly after learning of the teacher's strike in the episode The PTA Disbands, indicating that she doesn't really like her job that much.
Miss Hoover feared she may have been afflicted with Lyme disease during the episode entitled Lisa's Substitute. She was replaced briefly by Mr. Bergstrom but returned after it was discovered that her symptoms were psychosomatic.
Despite a lack of passion for her work, Miss Hoover still maintains a sense of structure in the classroom. She was quick to send Lisa to Principal Skinner's office following her use of 'derogatory language' and insisted that she write the test on the Wind and the Willows even though she wasn't feeling well. (Of course, Lisa was merely pretending not to feel well, but that's besides the point).
As Ralph's teacher, Miss Hoover has to deal with a variety of incidents, including (but not limited to) the ingestion of crayons, paste and worms. Underfunding prevents Miss Hoover from giving Ralph more crayons, paste or worms, however, and she often has to ask him to turn his desk around to face the wall. A statement made by Ralph in Grift of the Magi indicates that Miss Hoover has a tendency to lose her patience with him.
During Separate Vocations, viewers learn that Miss Hoover (and the rest of the faculty at Springfield Elementary) are unable to teach without their teacher's editions. Lisa discovers this when Miss Hoover announces that Old Hickory was a nickname for the Battle of New Orleans.
In general, Miss Hoover is much less developed as a character than Mrs. Krabappel. Little is explained about her background or her personal life. Her trademarks are her glasses, white blouse and pink skirt. Miss Hoover is voiced by Maggie Roswell.