Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/2866
But what if I’m funny? not laughter-inducing techniques from 8 eight proven humor researcher Micheal Lovorn your school’s resident “humor laureate.” Unsure who that might be? Ask the students. others (comedians, clowns, and other highly regarded professionals) to build a culture of humor while you grow in confi dence. • • noses, boisterous hats, or puppets as you teach. expectations by sharing humorous classroom episodes from past years or semesters. • • development to better understand what amuses students of various ages. Poke fun at yourself with self-eff acing humor. • • Encourage students to focus their humor skills on • Study the stages of humor Discuss behavior Use props such as false Use the strategies of Visit the classroom of JEFFREY l uSCHER Math teacher at Santiago High School, winner of 2008 Presidential Award for Math and Science, and Corona- Norco Teachers Association member. HiS SHtick Imitations of cartoon characters Dudley Do-Right and Donald Duck. Master of “strange looks,” facial expressions and vocal intonations. Telling funny stories about “dumb things I did.” Holding “Disco Day” in math classes. Rocking out to music such as “Gotta Separate It” by Off spring to make a point about separating numerals. reaSon for USing HUmor “Breaks down preconceived opinions that math is boring.” BeSt Joke on StUdentS Telling a precalculus honors class sarcastically that a wrong solution must be the “new math,” and watching them write it down verbatim in their notebooks. DaRREn THOmaS History teacher at Chaparral High School and Temecula Valley Educators Association member. HiS SHtick Her SHtick Humorous monologues about funny moments in history. Best known for having AP students “enshrine” great Americans into a Hall of Fame in the form of a Mr. or Mrs. Potato Head, complete with induction ceremony, speeches, dinner and a display of famous Potato Heads in his classroom. Deciding who gets immortalized has a serious side: It leads to debate and discussion about who is worthy and why. There is also a Potato Head Hall of Shame for villains. reaSon for USing HUmor “It leads to motivation. Teenagers are funny; the littlest thing motivates them. Tell a few jokes and they want to do all kinds of work for you.” Using finger puppets of such figures as Gandhi, Plato and Socrates to act out historic events. Standing on a chair and singing when students are not paying attention. Flipping the light switch on and off to indicate that students are “going back in time.” reaSon for USing HUmor “Students really do learn when they are laughing. That’s because they are paying attention.” HUmor advice “Don’t be afraid to be kooky — even if you’re making a fool of yourself.” al aIna IRWIn World and U.S. history teacher at Hanford West High School and Hanford Secondary Education Association member. the curriculum, and provide opportunities for them to express these skills in their art, music, and drama. Check out some books on humor, including: Laughing Lessons by Ron Burgess; If They’re Laughing They Just Might Be Listening by Elaine Lundberg • 20 California Educator | december 2008 • january 2009 and Cheryl Miller; The Laughing Classroom by Diana Loomans and Karen Kolberg; and Humor as an Instructional Def brillator by Ronald Berk. mICHaEl l OVORn Humor researcher and California Faculty Association member