The Excellent 11- Chapter 8- Humor

This is something I used to not think anything about. Humor? In a classroom? I never put the two together. Upon thinking about it further and reading this chapter, I realize now that it is incredibly important to have humor in the classroom. As adults and teachers, we can look at situations far too seriously. If we take a step back and try to see things from the students' point of view, chances are we will find humor in it and not take the situation so seriously. On the other hand, there have been several times in my field study that I have watched the students (mostly girls) freak out and stress out about such small things. I watch this and think back to a time when I was their age and I was stressing out about the exact situations they were. I have to laugh because I know now how small and minuscule those things are in the long run. That's one thing that I find humor in. Finding humor in these situations, both serious and not-so-serious, can help us relate to and understand our students a little better. One thing to remember (and I have a hard time with this sometimes) is knowing that there is a time to be humorous and a time to be serious. Knowing the difference is the key to successfully using humor in the classroom.