We have spent a lot of time talking about ways teachers can bring humor into the classroom. However, we have neglected to bring up that a teacher that is bogged down by stress may not have the capacity to be funny in the classroom. So, what's the medicine to cure such an ailment doc? Loomans and Kolberg (2002) suggest some ways to Lighten Up the Lounge in their book, The Laughing Classroom. The teachers' lounge can be a place of commodore or dread, a place of laughter or a place to lose your head! I know that the teacher's lounge, where I work, is a challenging place to feel happy. The outdated cabinetry, absence of windows and hodge podge of dishes and cutlery, are sure to loom a dreary feeling over its inhabitants. However, I rarely miss an opportunity to meet up with my colleagues for lunch. Though this place is dreary, it is also a place where great stories are told, family lives are shared and bonding can occur.
So, how do we fight the drear of the lounge? Here are my favorite suggestions from Loomans and Kolberg (p.206):
1.) Bring jokes, magazines and other funny material.- This is a great idea to help people relax! Often times, teachers are sitting around the table perusing random magazines and papers that have been left behind. What if the material left behind was humorous? Surely, the mood would pick up and with it the conversations!
2.)If you have a refrigerator, put a gag item in it to surprise the staff!- This is a great idea and builds on humor theory and incongruity. If the staff is not expecting to find an unusual item in the fridge, then they will view it as extra funny! Hmm... What could that humorous item be: a rubber chicken with a sign in his mouth? An interesting stuffed animal of a sort, or just a random school supply like binders, put in the wrong place? In fact 5 years ago, we used to keep a yardstick in our fridge at work. Long story, but basically a door shelf was broken and the school district wasn't replacing the fridge, so a teacher took matters into his own hands and fixed it right up, by masking taping a yardstick into the door. Hay! At least we could use the condiment shelf again!
3.) Create a "tacky table" where you can display white elephant items- it is true, people are drawn to the unusual and generally the more yucky or weird something looks, the more humorous and interesting it becomes. We did a "white elephant" gift once at a staff holiday party. While the gym teacher wrapped up a pair of his old size 1 gym shoes turned christmas ornaments complete with hooks and all, the winner of the "white elephant" gift was actually two horses that seemed to have their noses in each other's private areas. It was interesting, inappropriate and a contradiction ( being porcelain, white and surely a children's toy), so by all means ridiculously funny!! It actually did make it to school for a day or two. What would make it to the tacky table in our lounge? Not so sure, be we have already started a junky table with junk that teachers no longer want, and therefore it is just all shoved on this bookshelf, looking junky. So maybe we are halfway there already.
4.) Occasionally, put something unexpected in the room to liven it up!- This is a great idea and is most often depicted as decorations for holidays or events. But let's think like humor experts! What would be something truly unique that could be added to the lounge to liven it up? It is fun, when the furniture gets all mixed up, or someone puts an odd ball furniture item into the lounge like an antique or just something ridiculously odd. Every year there is a group of teachers who go above and beyond to create a holiday atmosphere in our lounge. It always looks incredible and makes you feel incredible too!
5.) Donate stress thermometers and let teachers use them to check their stress levels. Now, I may be an idiot, but I have never even heard of a stress level thermometer before. However, it does remind me of a survival kit that many teachers give students at the beginning of the year with a little poem, to help them relax. It is called an emergency school survival kit. It would be interesting and fun to create a kit like that and keep it in the lounge to help remind teachers of the important work the do in their job. There are some ideas to the right about things that can be put into the survival kit. You may want to add some more additional items (like chocolate and candies), so teachers can eat them or use them. Keeping a marble in their pocket might remind teachers not to lose their marbles, or a paperclip might help them remember to keep themselves together!
So, the next time you pass through your teacher's lounge, think to yourself: what can I do to make this place a little brighter, happier, funnier? Look over this blog entry for some ideas or pick up the book The Laughing Classroom and turn to page 206 to get some more great ideas. Remember a laughing lounge, creates a happy teacher, a happy teacher, uses humor to help her kids' sense of belonging, motivation, attention and to help maximize their learning experience. Let's not even discuss what a mood lounge brings about.... there are too many benefits to names, so let's just lay back and smile!
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