Humor in the Classroom
Mary Pettibone Poole's
observation that "He who laughs, lasts" is probably nowhere more true
than in teaching. A moderate touch of humor can nurture an inviting class
climate. Bob Hope had suggested that humor serves as a welcome mat between
speakers and their audience. It is a powerful tool that can break the
ice and get the listener on your side. Humor recaptures students' attention
and anchors their memory, improving achievement. One classic study found
students to be more creative after listening to a humorous recording.
Humor can diffuse tense situations, combat resistance, and reduce stress
in the classroom. It provides comic relief from the serious, sometimes
tedious, business of learning. Humor tends to make any experience more
fun and brings a group closer together.
Laughter has been
called internal jogging. It's good for the soul, the mind, and the body.
As John Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln so capably demonstrated, we can be
quite serious about our subject yet still infuse it with humor.
The cardinal rule
for using humor in the classroom is that it must never be used to harm,
humiliate, ridicule, or otherwise make fun of students. Cruel, sarcastic
humor is totally inappropriate and must not be tolerated. Likewise, humor
that is sexual or involves ethnic or gender slurs is taboo. If you have
a doubt as to whether an anecdote, quip, or joke is appropriate, don't
use it in school. The safest target of humor is you. Make a self-disparaging
remark about your handwriting or stick figures drawn on the board.
Humor can be spontaneous
or planned. Some people have a natural gift for finding humor in the everyday
ironies and foibles in their world. Just in the normal course of daily
classroom interactions, amusing predicaments will emerge on their own.
A smile or chuckle on our part communicates that we are also human and
can enjoy a good laugh, granting permission to our students to do the
same. Good-natured kidding and puns can be forms of spontaneous humor.
If you are not spontaneously witty, plan your humor by looking for cartoons,
anecdotes, and quotations that you find amusing and can share with your
students.
Your humorous quips
or observations need not evoke knee-slapping, ripsnorting belly laughs.
Lighthearted humor that brings a twinkle to the eye, a smile to the face,
or a groan or chuckle serves its purpose. You're not running a comedy
shop. You don't have to be hilarious to weave humor into your class presentations.
Here are more tips
on using humor in your classroom:
- Use odd or funny
noisemakers to signal the class to be quiet and give you their attention.
- Some teachers
convey their sense of humor through their dress and accessories. Colorful,
funny ties, scarves, sweaters, socks, and watches are widely available.
- Successful teachers
develop a repertoire of stories and anecdotes illustrating various aspects
of the subjects they teach. Some of the tales may be naturally amusing
or can be made so with a bit of exaggeration, animated gestures, or
surprising twists. Begin by drawing on funny things that have happened
to you.
- Most people who
believe they are not funny argue, "I can't tell a joke. I never remember
the punch line." If so, don't try to tell jokes in class (or if you
do, over-rehearse it until it flows naturally). Jokes are probably overrated
as a source of humor; they are the most difficult form to use successfully.
Even a teacher who is a good joke teller should not overuse the technique.
If you do tell a joke, make sure it is pertinent to the topic you are
teaching. If it bombs, you've at least made an academic point.
- If a joke bombs,
don't try to explain the punch line. Better to use a self-disparaging
comment: "That's why I keep the day job," or "I told my writers that
wouldn't work."
- In most classes,
you'll have at least one student who will be spontaneously, genuinely
witty. Sometimes all you have to do is play straight man to the amateur
comedian. Such a person often enjoys the attention, so take care not
to let it become disruptive or excessive.
- An easy source
of humor is the comic section of the newspaper. Read it every day with
an eye toward cartoons that illustrate some point related to your curriculum.
Comic strips that frequently feature school- and child-related topics
include Peanuts, Sally Fourth, For Better or for Worse, Dennis the
Menace, and Family Circus. Gary Larson's Far Side
cartoons are rich with off-the-wall quips students love; his past cartoons
are still available in books. Educational journals such as Phi Delta
Kappan and the Chronicle of Higher Education include cartoons
related to various aspects of education. Clip these and make them into
transparencies. It helps to enlarge them and add color with markers.
Post some cartoons on the door, use others on tests or handouts, or
post some on the bulletin board. If you are going to reproduce a cartoon
for instructional use, most cartoonists will freely grant you permission.
Call the local newspaper for their addresses.
- Quotations and
proverbs are another planned source of humor. You don't have to be funny,
just recognize what is. Chances are that if a quotation makes you laugh,
it will also make your students laugh. Periodicals such as Reader's
Digest are good sources for quotations. Invite students to be on
the lookout for ones they find funny and relevant to your subject. You
might even designate a section of a bulletin board where they might
post humorous clippings. Specify that they must make some point relevant
to your course.
- Construct your
own variation of David Letterman's top-ten lists or allow your students
to brainstorm their own lists. Do remind them to stay within the bounds
of good taste.
- When a lesson
isn't going well, carry on a monologue with yourself in a stage whisper.
Some teachers pick up a puppet, stuffed animal, or other object and
begin talking to it. Pull out a picture of the person you are studying
and have a chat. Or talk to the class goldfish or hamster. You can ask
it questions and then answer them yourself. Personification, treating
objects as though they were people, can be funny. Give your chalkboard
eraser a name and talk to it. They will chuckle. They may lock you up,
but they will chuckle.
- When several unexpected
events disrupt your class, react with humor rather than stress. "Well,
it went better in rehearsal."
- Suddenly shifting
to an accent for emphasis gets attention. Or have students try doing
a routine task in a different accent than normally expected (such as
reading Shakespeare or Poe in an exaggerated Southern drawl or Bronx
accent).
- Intentionally
slaughtering a foreign phrase (mercy bow-cup for merci beaucoup)
can be amusing. Of course, the students need to be familiar with the
phrase to recognize what you've done. It isn't essential that everyone
catches it, and don't pause to wait for a laugh.
- Into a touch of
humor into your tests, perhaps by using the name of your principal (in
a tasteful way), a local celebrity, a rival school, or alluding to a
current school event.
- Find a humorous
poem or song to celebrate a special occasion or holiday. Teach it to
the class.
- Check bookstores
and educational supply catalogs for humorous posters. Draw your own
if you are artistic.
- A humorous song
related to the topic being studied can grab students' attention and
inject a touch of levity. This can be a good way to open a challenging
or controversial subject.
- Cultivate inside
jokes within your class. Some funny things just happen, without planning.
They can become part of the class lore, which can be referred to from
time to time throughout the year.
- Create a comedy
file. Save in a folder or notebook items that you might use later in
your class. Include news items, cartoons, anecdotes, jokes, and quotations.
As your file expands, you might categorize your items by topic.
- Discover your
own humor style. Rather than forcing some brand of humor that is unnatural,
experiment and rely on the kinds of humor that you already enjoy and
use.
- Observe your students
to see what works. Listen to them talking among themselves to discover
what they think is funny.
- Become a student
of humor. Read the daily comics, watch funny movies, read humorous books,
go to comedy clubs, watch the good (though rare) situation comedies
on television.
- One last piece
of advice: don't try too hard. With experience, you'll discover what
kind of humor works and how much helps but does not hinder.
Excerpted
from Classroom Teacher's Survival Guide: Practical Strategies, Management
Techniques, and Reproducibles for New and Experienced Teachers, Second
Edition, by Ronald L. Partin (January 2005, $29.95, Paper) by permission
of Jossey-Bass/A Wiley Imprint.
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