Back in the day school teachers were told “Don’t smile until Easter” because by then, the thinking was, that you’d have those unruly students under control.
OK, maybe being a joking clowning teacher could indicate a lack of effective pedagogy but really some teachers take it all a bit too seriously.
This aphorism really belongs in the past where desks were always in rows, 40+ to a class and sit down and shut up was the order of the day.
Does this factory style of educating the masses conducive to providing the people of tomorrow with the thinking skills they will require? The world they will inherit will complex and ever changing and the flexibility to respond and navigate such a world is not fostered through rigid educational practices. new ways of thinking are required.
The research on humour use in pedagogy lists the following benefits:
- An increase in creative thinking
- An increase in divergent thinking
- Increased retention of information
- Benefits in establishing class cohesion
- Fostering healthy students -teacher relationships
- Lower stress levels in students and teachers
- Assisting to reframe stressful and challenging situations
- De escalate violent student behaviour
Dr Ken Robinson has an excellent clip on you tube where he discusses how schools kill creativity and many other forward thinkers, Professor Roslyn Arnold, Dr Toni Noble, advocate a positive educational framework which can help our students to thrive.
Enjoy your teaching and inject a little fun into your lessons.
