Many people view humor as something that belongs on T.V. or movies, in late night clubs, or enjoyed amongst close friends around food or drink. However, these people are looking at humor through only one perspective: the entertainment perspective. Humor is a fun-damental part of human nature. It exists in every culture, amongst all people and for as far back as historians have studied. Humor is part of who we are as humans and therefore should be embraced in every facet of life.
Unfortunately, this has not always been the case. Humor was seen as taboo in work settings and schools for a long time. People associated work and school as a place for serious business and not a place of amusement. "Children in school who show aptitude for music get sent to the music room, children with aptitude for art get sent to the art room, and children with an aptitude for humor get sent to the principal’s office," (Morell, 1991, p.359) Interesting quote! And isn't it so true? Those kids who just can't contain their humor in school, find themselves in trouble. Why does that have to be the case?
A recent review of literature by Robert and Yan ( 2007) have delved into the relationships between humor and creativity as well as humor and work performance. The literature that they cite, show that we would be doing our coworkers, and our students a large disservice by excluding humor from schools. Instead, we must embrace humor to help ourselves embrace each other (metaphorically of course, unless you ask permission first).
Hay (2001) points out that there are many possible behavioral responses to humor, however laughter and smiling are only two of them. (Hmmm, I wonder what some of the other responses are.) One of these behavioral responses may just be creativity. Yes, it is creativity! The very essence of what it means to be an amazing student in America. ( Note: other countries may or may not feel the same way depending on their philosophy of education.) But, yes, here in America we want our students to be more creative to "think outside of the box." Robert and Yan cite much research (Abramis, 1992; Caudron, 1992; Therrien, 2004) to support the claim that humor enhances or stimulates creative thinking. According to Barker (2002), humor may ‘‘widen pathways among the brain’s lobes’’ (p. 168). Another theory proposed by Ziv (1988) suggests that the positive mood caused by humorous situations may reduce anxiety when voicing unique or original ideas. Therefore, teachers it is time to break out the comics, the stand-up (or sit-down jokes), the satire, the big guns** ( **I am not promoting guns at school. It is an idiom.) We need those resources to develop students who are more able to take risks in order to share original ideas which will widen their brain's pathways.
Speaking about a reduction in anxiety, research shows that humor may also help increase job satisfaction and productivity. That claim seems to be fair and make sense. I would rather do a task which is enjoyable or fun as opposed to a task that is too serious. Why wouldn't my coworkers or students feel similar? In a study exploring the effects of sense of humor and a humorous situations on stressful tasks, Abel and Maxwell (2002), discovered that being exposed to a humorous stimulus alleviated anxiety and increased positive affect. "Individuals’ sense of humor, and presumably their ability to interpret life events through the lens of humor, also appears to moderate the influence of both positive and negative life events such that a sense of humor is more strongly associated with positive affect after both positive and negative life events," (Martin, Kuiper, Olinger, & Dance, 1993). So, it's up to you to use that humor for the betterment of your colleagues and your students.
Research shows that humor has a place in school. And not only does it have a place, it has a meaningful place in helping teachers and students to become more creative, as well as helping everyone to love their jobs ( be it teaching or learning) more and even perform better at them, too! So, what happens to all of the funny children? Let's hope that they grow up to be funny adults, so they can be more creative, productive and motivated individuals in their place of work!
Unfortunately, this has not always been the case. Humor was seen as taboo in work settings and schools for a long time. People associated work and school as a place for serious business and not a place of amusement. "Children in school who show aptitude for music get sent to the music room, children with aptitude for art get sent to the art room, and children with an aptitude for humor get sent to the principal’s office," (Morell, 1991, p.359) Interesting quote! And isn't it so true? Those kids who just can't contain their humor in school, find themselves in trouble. Why does that have to be the case?
A recent review of literature by Robert and Yan ( 2007) have delved into the relationships between humor and creativity as well as humor and work performance. The literature that they cite, show that we would be doing our coworkers, and our students a large disservice by excluding humor from schools. Instead, we must embrace humor to help ourselves embrace each other (metaphorically of course, unless you ask permission first).
Hay (2001) points out that there are many possible behavioral responses to humor, however laughter and smiling are only two of them. (Hmmm, I wonder what some of the other responses are.) One of these behavioral responses may just be creativity. Yes, it is creativity! The very essence of what it means to be an amazing student in America. ( Note: other countries may or may not feel the same way depending on their philosophy of education.) But, yes, here in America we want our students to be more creative to "think outside of the box." Robert and Yan cite much research (Abramis, 1992; Caudron, 1992; Therrien, 2004) to support the claim that humor enhances or stimulates creative thinking. According to Barker (2002), humor may ‘‘widen pathways among the brain’s lobes’’ (p. 168). Another theory proposed by Ziv (1988) suggests that the positive mood caused by humorous situations may reduce anxiety when voicing unique or original ideas. Therefore, teachers it is time to break out the comics, the stand-up (or sit-down jokes), the satire, the big guns** ( **I am not promoting guns at school. It is an idiom.) We need those resources to develop students who are more able to take risks in order to share original ideas which will widen their brain's pathways.
Speaking about a reduction in anxiety, research shows that humor may also help increase job satisfaction and productivity. That claim seems to be fair and make sense. I would rather do a task which is enjoyable or fun as opposed to a task that is too serious. Why wouldn't my coworkers or students feel similar? In a study exploring the effects of sense of humor and a humorous situations on stressful tasks, Abel and Maxwell (2002), discovered that being exposed to a humorous stimulus alleviated anxiety and increased positive affect. "Individuals’ sense of humor, and presumably their ability to interpret life events through the lens of humor, also appears to moderate the influence of both positive and negative life events such that a sense of humor is more strongly associated with positive affect after both positive and negative life events," (Martin, Kuiper, Olinger, & Dance, 1993). So, it's up to you to use that humor for the betterment of your colleagues and your students.
Research shows that humor has a place in school. And not only does it have a place, it has a meaningful place in helping teachers and students to become more creative, as well as helping everyone to love their jobs ( be it teaching or learning) more and even perform better at them, too! So, what happens to all of the funny children? Let's hope that they grow up to be funny adults, so they can be more creative, productive and motivated individuals in their place of work!
0 comments:
Post a Comment