Why Schools Should Be Funnier

After years of being treated like a non-entity, humor is finally getting a glimmer of recognition as being a significant factor in learning. I was thrilled to see a reference to my book, Using Humor to Maximize Learning in this week’s education page of the Washington Post. Unfortunately, humor is not quite yet a part of the mainstream media in education. We need to continue to share the research from the field of neuroscience on the impact that humor can have on learning.

Students and teachers are under enormous pressure to improve test scores, with an increasingly greater focus on a basing teacher evaluation on student scores. Diane Ravitch highlights these issues in an article in “The New York Review of Books”.

"Like George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind, Barack Obama’s Race to the Top program is part of what Pasi Sahlberg calls “the Global Education Reform Movement,” or GERM. GERM demands teaching to the test. GERM assumes that students must be constantly tested, and that the results of these tests are the most important measures and outcomes of education. The scores can be used not only to grade the quality of every school, but also to punish or reward students, teachers, principals, and schools. Those at the top of the education system, the elected officials and leaders who make the rules, create the budgets, and allocate resources, are never accountable for the consequences of their decisions. GERM assumes that people who work in schools need carrots and sticks to persuade (or compel) them to do their best".

There is a misconception that providing incentives ( like more money) will be a motivator for teachers to improve their teaching. The fact of the matter is that most teachers teach because they love teaching and they believe they are making a difference in the lives of kids. AND they teach because they believe that learning is exciting, energizing and fun. After I provide workshops on humor and stress, numerous teachers tell me that they are infusing humor into their teaching every day. Many express gratitude not only for the permission, but for the encouragement to increase the use of humor in their classroom. They appreciate the research that the use of humor can indeed facilitate the learning process.

It is heartwarming to read that my book on humor is making the mainstream media.