"Humor can act as a social lubricant or a social retardant in the educational setting. It can educate or denigrate, heal or harm, embrace or deface. It's a powerful communication tool, no matter which side is chosen."
Joy Master vs. Joke Maker vs. Life Mocker vs. Fun Meister
It is crucial for us to identify our humor style--it is such a powerful tool--we need to use it in an empowering manner!
Please discuss ways we can utilize this information to make our classrooms, colleagues, and schools better.
- Does your humor style bring you closer to your students?
- Does it enliven them or deaden them?
- Is it helping you reach your teaching goals?
- Is it enhancing and promoting a learning environment in your classroom?
7 comments:
My humor style is closest to Joy Master. I can be funny but I am not a natural joke or story teller. I've always been one to try to create a fun and caring environment by providing positive energy. I do this with lots of smiles, positive/motivational comments and hands-on activities with open discussions.
When I was teaching and while I've been at home, I have found that the more positive I am in addition to using fun ideas and ways to teach, only brought me closer to my students, colleagues and son. It's pretty clear that smiling and being a generally upbeat and positive person helps ALL around you become more that way. It makes students realize you care about them, and feel more confident and motivated to work hard.
We all know that everything can't be FUN or made to be entertaining all the time. However, it's the overall feel of the classroom environment that affects student learning. I agree with Anderclub4 when she said kids remember teachers who cared about them. If they know that and feel supported, they can and want to learn whether the learning experience is under more serious conditions or made into a more "fun" experience. We all need to be able to do both.
After reading the four humor styles I would have to say that I am most like the Joy Master. I think that this humor style brings me closer to my students and it also enlivens them. As I have said before, I love a good laugh and I think that my students enjoy laughing with me. I really think this helps to have a good teacher/student relationship. There is a lot of respect in my classroom. I feel that my students know that I care about them, which in turn, makes them more confident and willing to do well. They always seem to try to please me and make me proud of them!
I feel my humor style is a blend of a Joy Master and a Fun Meister.
There is so much to people, what is funny/laughable to one person many not interest the next. What adults think is funny, to what children think is funny.......sometimes is a BIG difference.
We enjoy fun/laughable moments in my classroom, but at the same time I feel I keep a pretty structured classroom. Some students would love laugh more, while others would like even more structure. The happy medium is obviously our/my goal. I'm always working on this area of my teaching along with all areas of the teaching profession.
My humor style is closest to the Joke Maker. I see both the positive side and the negative side in me, and that pretty much depends on the day I'm having, my students are having, or how much sleep I've gotten. I'm rather reactive in how I treat people. I've had situations where I've alienated students because of sarcastic remarks I've said out of frustration. That has changed a lot over the last five years, but I've still got a long way to go.
My principal is a Joy Master. He is so good with people! Most of the students just love being around him and would do just about anything for him. He can discipline students and they'll still want to be around him. I see all that and realize I don't have that, but want it.
That said, I've started to bring more humor/fun into my classes to let my students see that side of me and to let them share with me. We've have joke telling sessions, played word games, and made volcanoes and clouds in Science classes. We've just been more active. But, it seems that we're not getting the class work done that I'd like to. With only a month of school left, I'd like to end things on a really positive note.
I would have to say I'm a Joke Maker/Fun Meister. Both have their negative sides and I have to be very aware how my students receive and perceive my humor. I sometimes can get carried away and that can come back to bite me at some inopportune times i.e. in the middle of a formal observation. But then you can use that circumstance as a learning opportunity in perception.
I could not be a straight- laced teacher all the time. I would be bored and my students would be bored.
This is the 2nd time posting this blog too. I'm a little frustrated.
After reading about the 4 humor styles, I believe that I am a Joy Master. I love to have fun and try very hard to make my classes fun, no matter what. There are times that we have skill tests and things but I always make sure we save time for fun actvities that the kids love to do. I want each class to make each student feel successful, feel connected, and have fun. We do tons of activities in partners or small groups or as a whole class. The one thing I know for certain is that I spend a great deal of my teaching day laughing. I laugh a lot at the sheer ingenuity that the kids show. We might be doing an activity that I've done with other classes 8 times before and there is always a student that interprets it a little diferently that makes me laugh. The kids too spend much of their time smiling and laughing with their team mates.
Wow, this section was an eye-opener (AHA moment?). Every description made me think of a person or fellow teacher that I knew. It actually makes me grateful for being exposed to so many different humor styles. This is another reason that teachers need to get out of their classrooms and go and observe other teachers. Just watching someone else work is a huge learning experience.
As for my own humor style, I think it has been a journey. When I started teaching I had seniors, sophomores, and freshmen. The seniors were a tough bunch, and I was pretty naive. Asa result I went from a more Fun Meister/Joke Maker to a Life Mocker. It was a tough first year and I felt like the joy was beat out of me. Looking back, that was how many of the teachers were. I don't remember any Joy Masters at all! Maybe I just wasn't looking. Since then I have taught other high school classes (at a different school) and have enjoyed them. I also taught middle school. I believe it was teaching middle school and having a Joy Master/ Fun Meister mentor teaching next door that brought me to be a Joke Maker with some hints of Fun Meister.
One style that I truly admire and want to work at infusing into my own teaching is Joy Master. Those were the kind of teachers I really loved as a student. I'm not sure why I don't do that now. it may be the grade level I teach,or maybe just fear? I'm not sure. Now that I actually see the humor style differences I am going to try to be more humanizing, healing, and warm-hearted.
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