Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/2866
A Although most adults remem- ber at least one or two teachers from their school days whom they considered funny or enter- taining, the structured or inten- tional use of humor in the class- room is a relatively new concept in the field of education. The rea- son may be what Lovorn de- scribes as the “humor paradox”: While society claims to place a high value on humor, there is of- ten apprehension of employing humor in school or the workplace for fear of coming across as un- productive. With so many benefits from using humor in the classroom, teachers shouldn’t hold back, says Lovorn, a California Faculty Association member who real- ized the importance of humor when he was a brand-new histo- ry teacher put in front of 43 eighth-graders in the corner of a cafeteria while lunch was being served. “I had only 35 books and no maps. I thought I had made the mistake of the ages by becoming a teacher. All I had at that point was my humor, and I learned to make it readily available.” Humor can be used as a means to increase student involvement and attention, help students re- tain information and even make difficult subjects downright en- joyable. And humor can relieve tension before an exam and actu- ally help students perform better. Appropriate humor tends to com- plement curriculum rather than distract from it. Of course, a teacher’s job is to educate, not to entertain — but when humor makes the process more enjoyable, everybody ben- efits. And that includes teachers, who find that using humor in the classroom leaves them feeling in- vigorated instead of burned out — and also improves student be- havior. For inspiration, the fol- lowing funny CTA members — dare we say class clowns — share their shticks and secrets on how to use humor effectively in the classroom. Quiz How’s Your Sense of Classroom Humor? 1. In the middle of giving a lecture about ancient history, you notice students are daydreaming or tuning you out. You decide to: A. Plead with them to pay attention. B. Give up in exasperation and tell them to read the information themselves in silence. C. Assign a pop quiz. D. Act out the roles of Plato and Socrates in dramatic fashion. E. Put on finger puppets to re-enact historical scenes in funny voices. Then give students a turn. 2. You want to demonstrate to students how to organize their binders. You decide to: A. Show them a perfectly organized binder and praise it profusely. B. Lecture them about how disorganization can lead to poor classroom performance. C. Warn that if their notebook is messy, they will be punished with a lower grade. D. Explain in a choked up voice that you will be filled with so much joy you just might cry with happiness if they have a nicely organized binder and wipe away imaginary tears. E. Show them a “sample” of an extremely messy binder belonging to an imaginary student. Act out dramatically how you are unable to find anything! Re-enact a student frantically rummaging through his binder who is unable to locate his notes that are allowed on a test. Say with great sadness, “If only I had listened to my teacher, I would have gotten an A!” 3. It’s time to explain the newly enacted campus dress code. You decide to: A. Read passages from the memo delivered from the school board. B. Have students write down passages of the memo as a writing exercise. C. Poke fun at a certain student who wears a baseball cap, flip-flops and shorts every day and then announce such items of clothing are no longer allowed. D. Hold up certain items of clothing and ask students if they think they are still allowed. Give away small prizes for every correct answer. E. Arrive to class wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses, Hawaiian shorts over your trousers and flip-flops. Walk around snapping your fingers and looking ridiculous. Announce that such items are no longer allowed on campus and remove them promptly. Il Ian Guzm an Kindergarten teacher at Walker Elementary School and Santa Ana Educators Association member. Her SHtick Using puppets to teach math and language. Doing “roly-polies” (rolling around on the carpet) to relax. Creating “inside jokes” in each class based on everyday occurrences. reaSon for USing HUmor “Without humor there is no survival. They will take over. They will look at each other and laugh and create their own humor, unless you are a better comedian than they are.” HUmor advice “Teach them — or retrain them — about the length of laughter that is appropriate, because they watch TV programs with prerecorded laughter that goes on for long periods. Send a message through a cue that after laughing, it’s time to regroup.” 18 California Educator | december 2008 • january 2009 into the classroom bringhumor into the classroom bring humor into the classroom bring humor into the classroom bringmorhe m bring humor bring humor bring humor bring humor into the classroom bring humor into the classroom into the classroom into the classroom into the classroom bring humor into the classroom bring humor into the classroom bring humor Answers: A’s and B’s are worth zero points on the humor scale. C’s are worth minus 5 points for being counterproductive — punitive or humiliating for students. D’s and E’s are worth a zillion points — they show a good sense of humor and will endear you to students for making class fun.