Firstly, I apologize for the late post, technical difficulties.
The authors discuss their six arguments for bringing humor into the classroom, calling them "straw men" but hoping that readers realize the reasons for keeping humor out are the "straw men," not the other way round. 1) But Kids Already Get Enough Humor Outside of School - by bringing humor in, however, teachers are able to bridge the gap between "real life" and academics, making students see real life applications of school. Also, teachers should educate their students on the subtlety of humor and what makes things humorous, helping them to gain a higher appreciation of humor. 2) But Teaching Humor Will Take Away from the Time I Need to Teach Grammar, Composition, Literature, and Public Speaking - as we have often discussed, looking at what is "wrong" is more interesting and just as effective of a teaching method as looking at what is "right," which is also what this suggests doing. Looking at humorous mistakes allows students to have fun while seeing the effects these errors can have, and making them realize the different circumstances under which formal and informal grammar should be used. Also, by involving something the students find to be fun, they are less uneasy about public speaking and learn to analyze literature, hopefully leading to other forms. 3) But I'm Supposed to Be Preparing Kids to Earn a Living - the business world has a growing need for people to work directly with humor, script writers, comedians, actors, and authors to name a few. Also, in almost every job there is a need for humor, whether just between colleagues or as a release of stress. 4) If I Bring Humor into My Class, I'll Have Censorship Problems - "We [teachers] need to help students ponder the relationship of censorship to such terms as good taste, appropriateness, tolerance, kindness, respect, sensitivity, and the ubiquitous political correctness (38). 5) Humor Hurts People's Feelings - the authors admit that this does happen, but that humor is equally used to build relationships, just as any communication tool does. 6) But I Can't Teach about Humor When I Can't Even Tell a Joke or Write a Funny Letter Home - teachers sometimes need to let their students lead, but they offer some activities to help, including having students bring in news clippings, research and write about humor, and writing parodies and pattern jokes.
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8 comments:
I agree that hummor can be an effective tool in teaching various aspects of English or grammar. Most importantly, it will serve to catch the attention in students which is something that many teachers fail to do. It is obvious that a student will comprehend a subject that he or she is passionate about much better than one considered dull. Yes, I understand that not every aspect of education can be fun and interesting, but English is a very unique field with several outlets to incorportate interesting, entertaining subject matter. I see no harm in giving it a try in the classroom. Everyone loves a good laugh. :)
I don't think that anyone wouldn't agree that even a little humor here and there can't hurt anyone. As students we go to school for a living, and as any job, we should enjoy it. Without any enjoyment what are we motivated to do? Not very much. Humor can hurt peoples feelings, yes, but there are different kinds of humor, and that is not the kind of humor that is appropriate in the classroom. Humor could take away from a teachers teaching time if they were to do a stand up comedy or something, otherwise incorporating humor into the lesson won't take time away from anything. As Markie said, it is easy to incorporate interesting subjects into teaching English, and I feel that is very important in effective teaching. The more entertaining, or humorous the subject is, the more students are willing to learn, and they are able to learn better then by memorization; it will stick in their mind.
Actually, I had a high school teacher that taught honors world history as a stand-up comedy act! Monty Python was on PBS and a new show had just entered late night on Saturday night's with Steve Martin hosting more often than not (SNL). Mr Anderson's humor ran along those veins...and I can still remember some of the acts 30+ years later. How many dates can you remember from history class? Humor can be a way to relieve tedium as well as tackle hard issues. As to the censorship issue, I think a teacher needs to set a tone and create a safe environment where destructive behavior is not tolerated whether humor is the weapon of choice or another medium is chosen. If a teacher has a handle on the atmosphere in general, many things are self-regulating. To quote the sagacious Barney Fife, "You've got to nip it in the bud."
Straw men Comments
Humor in the classroom is not such a difficult concept. Those that argue that it detracts from the topics at hand are the ones who have sleeping students in the back row. It is necessary to keep their attention. Therefore, why not make the students listen to what you are saying, if not for the information that they are receiving, for the hopes that you might make them laugh. A good teacher presents important material in an enthusiastic and memorable way. Comedy can make a student remember much better than drilling it into the sleeping heads on the desk through repetition. The whiners that say that humor is inappropriate or offensive are considering the wrong humor. Stand up comedy is inappropriate, but sarcastic jokes about how a similar situation in a book to the present situation “can never happen” is subtle and not offensive in any way.
Jason Valentine
I agree with ther need for humor in the classroom. There are too many teachers, that I've had, haven't had, that bring their game face to the classroom, they are stern and boring, not to mention dull. As a student it's impposible to pay atention to someone who walks around a classroom looking like it's the last place on earth he wants to be. I understand that teachers think that there's no room for fuuny. That teachers aren't there to be your friend. However, if I"m going to spend five days out of my week with you for an hour or so each day...we can have a laugh or two.
Humor is very effective in the classroom. In Junior High I had a communications teacher that was crazy. He used his high energy to keep the class motivated and get his point across. Humor can be do good things in the classroom; it acts as an attention getter. However, if it directed towards your students in a negative way it could do more harm than good. You don't have to keep them laughing, because it's not a night at the Apollo. You just have to keep them interested in what you are teaching. When you have gotten their attention, keep on task and no classroom time will be wasted. Just remeber there will be days, where it will be a rough crowd.
Humor is think always needed in the classroom. Myself, personally seem to understand things better when there is a little humor involved in the class. I seem to listem more in class when its fun to be in. Sometimes there are techers who are dry with no humor or anything. Thats when students tend to daze off into another worlds and I have done that myself at times. Overall most my techers have had a sence of humor and made class fun to be in.
This was a really good response/article. I think that humor is a good tool to use in the class room, alot of times kids get bored and tires of doing the same thing. By adding a little humor they might enjoy the class more. However if i was a teacher the questions that came up in the article are some that i might ask myself. Do we really have time to joke around when tere lessons to prepare.
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