Look at the major benefits to laughter and play in your classroom from page 33:
- maintain a high attention level
- relieve physical and mental stress
- build rapport
- increase retention
- enhance self-esteem
- promote divergent thinking
- bring new insights
- allow for pleasurable learning
- increase feeling of hope
Wow! Huge benefits!
Take "The Laughing Classroom Quiz on pages 34-35.
Please post thoughts and AHAS from the reading in The Laughing Classroom so far.
Ideas:
(Remember these are just guidelines and all of the following do not have to be answered)
- Any questions from the page 24 Play Sheet.
- Paula Parrot and the Carrot--What makes you feel alive and what does this story have to do with education (pg. 29-31)
- Discuss your Gratitude and Humor Journal entries and how they have influenced your lives.
- Your scores on the Laughing Classroom Quiz (Reflections...)
8 comments:
What makes me feel alive? The first things that comes to mind are interactions with people and traveling to see and learn about places. Whenever I get in a rut and spend too much time 'taking care of things,' I become moody which I'm sure happens to most people. I need to be around others or physically do things or go places to re-energize myself and that's what we need to keep in mind when we teach. We have to add something new or out of the ordinary to give a boost to our daily routines.
I think the story about Paula Parrot stresses that the classroom and education shouldn't be stifling or completely rote. Instead, they should be a positive experience; a journey for a community of learners who feel safe to express their thoughts and ideas. Students should be able experience success and also feel safe to fail. If children can't experience both freely, they won't learn.
The journal we have been keeping has made me step back and look at experiences in a more relaxed and positive way. I haven't been quite as serious about everything which was needed! I'm pretty lucky overall and could have a lot more serious problems.
I took the quiz on pages 34-35 and can remember specfic examples of why I could choose yes. The only one I said no to was that students had nicknames for me. I don't remember any students calling me a cute nickname of any kind.
It is hard for me to choose my 3 favorite teachers because I enjoyed so many of them. The thing they had in common was their love of the content they were teaching. I remember one teacher, Mr. Tischer, that made me feel special. He would see me in the hall and ask about the book I was reading. He told me to read an author and when we'd get a chance, we'd discuss that for a little bit. He believed in me and took an interest in me outside of the classroom, as a person. Other favorite teachers were so dedicated, challenging, and kind. I have so many favorites I think because they allowed students to get to know them. Equally, they showed interest in the students.
I loved the Paula Parrot and t Carrot. It is so true that students try so hard to give you the answer they think you are looking for. You have to make them feel comfortable, connected, for them to have the freedom to ask questions out loud. Some students have no problem saying anything but to reach all of them, they all have to be an integral part of the group. You need to create an atmosphere of acceptance and caring and you can't do that without feeling those feelings yourself. In my classrooms, we have lots of opportunities to let students freely express themselves with different manipulatives or with tumbling and balancing stunts that they make up. I know that kids have their favorite sports, but after being in my class for a year, I hope that they can't decide which is their favorite because they had so much fun doing activities incorporating all of the sports.
My score for the Laughing Classroom Quiz was quit high. I am pretty happy with that! I don't think taking this quiz makes me a good teacher, but it showed me that I am on the right track. I checked “no” for the nickname question just as tjensen did. I don't remember any students ever having a nickname for me. The other one that I could not check “yes” to all the time would be my students working well in small groups. Yes, they do for the most part, but there are days, where they just want to goof around.
Paula Parrot and the Carrot was an interesting story. I have to agree that sunsets, rainstorms and the beauty of the earth make me feel alive. The one thing that I enjoy doing the most in the warm weather is to go up to my cottage. I love to get up early in the morning, go outside and sit by the water with my coffee. It is so relaxing to listen to the wildlife that I could sit there for hours. This is always such a special time for me and it is always so much better when I have had a stressful week!
My Gratitude and Humor Journal is still a work in progress, but I am learning a lot from it. I have had to change my lenses in which I see the world and I do now realize that there IS humor in everyday situations! I truly believe that life is what you make it. I think there are many people in this world that worry constantly like the Paula Parrot story talked about. This is just not healthy and I feel that everyone would be much better if they were optimistic, happy and high on life!
The Laughing Classroom quiz was really interesting. I never thought of my classroom as laughing or fun classroom. I wanted a classroom that was a little more on the serious level, where there were high expectations, and the stuff you learned in there was really worth working for. Not unattainable, just requiring hard work.
Well, work can be fun. That's how I feel about teaching. And as it turns out, accoring to the quiz, my classroom is in the warm range.
The reading materials and assignments for this class have really made me think about myself. I know how good it feels to laugh and relax when doing a task. It may take your mind away from what you're doing for a moment, but it's easy to get back on task. I always thought that once my students got off task, that it would be too difficult to get them back in line.
I want to help them see that learning can be fun.
Just a few more things to say: I know how much I appreciate a person who makes me smile. I want to do that for my students. I know I can still "impart knowledge", making the ride enjoyable can make the knowledge more interesting.
Well, my past classrooms have rated around a 16 for a laughing classroom. I think that currently I can practice being a joyful teacher and having a laughing classroom as a substitute teacher. The Laughing Classroom text is a resource I will use as well as some other online resources I have found while researching energizers and jokes.
When I return to teaching full-time, I will be a great opportunity to start bringing out the Joy Master parts of my humor style that I know are in there somewhere. Along with experiences, I think I can bring organized fun to the class in a way that I might have been afraid to do in the past. I truly want to have students that respect, look forward to, but most of all enjoy my class and company. After all, if a student already hates a subject- he or she will be doomed if they also hate the teacher as well.
Another AHA I'll be taking from this class is using laughter in my own life outside the classroom. With stress levels at an all-time high, I know that my students, family, and body will benefit from some laughter therapy.
As for journals, I just want to keep doing it. When I was feeling whiny about my life or situation, I could reflect on the things that are good and fun in my life. I think it is important to do that weekly if not daily. It helps to keep your life in perspective. :)
I had many teachers through the years that I enjoyed quite a bit. What I think is interesting and exciting is that I actually teach in the same school as my favorite teacher. I have the special opportunity to teach in the same school district that I grew up in as a youth. So it's fun to be teaching along side of one of the teachers that made a great impact in my life.
A couple comments about my journal entries. I like reading what I wrote and being able to think back about how the children reacted to a certain activity. I also like the idea that this class/journal is making me more accountable in regards to excitement/laughter going on in my classroom.
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