Humor in the Classroom

Humor in the Classroom

by Ed Martin

I’m sure this has never happened to anyone else (sarcasm intended), but before the semester break our students were preparing for their Hands-On Finals.  Literally one month before the finals I handed out a breakdown of what would be required of them, and I gave them numerous opportunities to prepare and practice for the big day.  On several occasions I said; “This would be a perfect time for you to help each other prepare for your finals.” What happened after this statement you may ask?  Absolutely ANYTHING EXCEPT practicing for their finals is the correct answer, to which I then stated; “I don’t want to hear anyone crying about not being prepared when the day of finals arrives!”  “This is your fair warning!”  They echoed back; “We’re good Mister!  In my mind I couldn’t help but think “yeah, you’re good, or at least you think you are good”

Fast forward to the day before the big day and what do you suppose I heard from many of my students?  If you guessed “Hey Mister, when do we get time to get ready for the final, and what will have to be able to do?”  Or my personal favorite; “you never gave us time to prepare!” Then you have either been in my classroom, or you have experienced this bazaar ritual for yourselves.

I sure wish someone could explain this all to common phenomenon with our students in a way that makes sense to my obviously limited mind.  

I would love to hear from all of you about this.  Does this ever happen to you?  If it has, I’d also like to hear how you handle it when it comes up (other than flat out laughter which is my default response).  

Sometimes all we can do is shake our heads, tap our heels together and repeat; There’s no place like home, there’s no place like………..I think you get it.

Warmest Regards,

Ed