I think we would all say we love humour and have fond memories of fun and hilarious moments in our lives, but when it comes to our children’s education, we probably don’t think that the classroom is supposed to be humorous. Cheryl Jackson at TVO Parents writes about how her daughter is about to enter high school and is worried she won’t meet funny friends, but then also begins to discuss new research suggesting humour has an important place in the classroom.
Cheryl also hosts an episode of Your Voice that is a roughly half hour discussion with a fascinating panel of educators who use humour in their work, and have even done research about the effects of humour. What becomes clear is that humour – which is more than simply telling jokes – helps stimulate the maximum amount of brain activity and helps to form memorable classroom moments.
Intuitively, I know what these panelists are saying is right. Some of my favourite memories from school were fun and light-hearted moments. They didn’t necessarily involve a joke exactly, but certainly involved a teacher willing to go beyond the serious “I”m going to talk, you’re going to listen” model that often invoked boredom or fear into students.
I really enjoyed hearing that the role of humour and breaking the ice in the classroom is considered these days. I certainly never thought about how empowering it could be for students, and I’m confident that many teachers today are breaking the old model, even if not specifically trying to incorporate humour.
They say laughter is the best medicine, but perhaps it’s also the best education.
Photo of St. Clements Girls School. ©Our Kids archives.
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