The Little Book of Laughter: Using humour as a tool to enagage and motivate all learners

Intro

Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband’s lap.

Now this Sumerian one-liner dating back to 1900 BC might not be the best gag ever but it is the oldest. Or at least the oldest on record. Cavemen probably had their own version in a Blazing Saddles meets One Million Years BC sort of way. Laughter, relationships and bodily functions are clearly a part of what makes us human and they certainly form a core part of classroom life, as anyone with a large bottom set will tell you (pun intended).

This little book of mirth seeks to take you on a brief but enlightening journey into exactly what laughter is and what part the use of humour can play in enhancing and galvanising the learning experience for all concerned.

Like Ant and Dec, there are two parts to this book: the first is short, witty and sets the scene; the second is a little bit shorter and funnier. In the first section, I have included all the information and handy hints I could muster from my tour of the world of humour and comedy, ideas that I believe will steadfastly aid and assist teachers in their bid to bring a little more light relief to the classroom. Along the way, I will strive to demystify the art and science of laughter and explore how to seek out and create moments where laughter can occur to make things in the classroom better all round.

The second section consists of a veritable smorgasbord of exercises and activities for use with learners in your classroom – activities proven to create humour, generate laughter, enhance learning and make you look great. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to take these ideas and exercises and adopt, adapt, enjoy, explore and generally mess about with them to your heart’s content.

Of course, there are many ways to skin a cat (as my first Cub Scouts badge proudly signifies), and I am not in the least suggesting these ideas are the only way to get ’em rolling in the classroom aisles. But, like an old man with a cat, a potato peeler and a bit of time on his hands, they’re a start.

It is also worth mentioning that all the ideas, thoughts, feelings, activities, hints and suggestions in this book have come together through years of plugging away in front of audiences of students, parents, teachers, businesses and the general public. Audiences as big as a thousand and as little as three. Audiences that have ranged the full gamut from warm, welcoming, funny, excited, inspiring and up for it (you’d be surprised) to cold, hostile, indifferent, arrogant, disaffected and downright angry. As one man wrote on his feedback sheet: ‘Dave Keeling has the sort of face I would never tire of slapping’ (there are easier ways to flirt!).

My hope is that this book will, in some small way, give you permission to have as much fun as possible in your classroom and will, en route, inform, empower and entertain in equal measure. After all, having a laugh should be in your job description because, let’s face it, if you don’t love what you do, why should the kids? And let me reassure you too. Some people believe that you are either funny or you are not. I disagree, at least with the second part of that sentence. Later on in this book, I’ll give away some of the secrets that comedians use to create laughter. But, for now, take heart from the fact that everyone can be funny and use humour to enhance the way they work. Trust me, I’m ginger!

So, sit back on your whoopee cushion of learning, rub Vaseline on your funny bone, plaster an intrigued smile across your face and imagine everyone around you is naked, as I endeavour to explain what this funny business is all about.

My act is very educational. I heard a man leaving the other night saying, ‘Well, that taught me a lesson.’

Ken Dodd #:-)

Section I

The World of Humour and Comedy

Education:

A technique employed to open minds so that they may go from cocksure ignorance to thoughtful uncertainty.

Chapter 1

Funny Business is a Risky Business

Don’t worry, don’t be afraid, because this is just a ride.

Bill Hicks

Just before we crack on, a quick word of warning. This may only be a little book but taking on board the ideas and the philosophies within it will demand some big risks. Yet, as John Vorhaus states in his opus, The Comic Toolbox: ‘What we don’t always have is the will to risk and the will to risk is really the will to fail. Behind all bogus thinking is the biggest bogus thought of all: If I fail I die’ (1994: 9, 11).

So, there you have it. No one was harmed in the making of this book and no one will be harmed while reading it. You will not die as a result of implementing the ideas contained herein and all will be well. Cross my heart and hope to die (me, not you). All I ask is that in order to get the black-and-white pages of this book up and running, you allow yourself to indulge in the art of play.

Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cosy, doesn’t try it on.

Billy Connolly (:-{~

Play is at the heart of human development. It shapes our thinking, relationships, imagination and emotional regulation. Play is a practical endeavour and is born out of an inherent need for exploration. Play signals, such as eye contact, touch, laughter and smiling, are the basis of our very first communicative interactions with the world. Laughter and humour are a major factor in social play and help to forge friendships and create a sense of equality. Learning should therefore be a collaborative enterprise, a mutual exchange of knowledge, thoughts and ideas. Not a ‘them and us’ but simply a single, happy ‘us’. All in it together, learning well and having a laugh as we go.

Simply answer ‘yes’ to the following statements and I’ll let you carry on reading this book, safe in the knowledge that the universe, or at the very least your classroom, will be a better place as a result.

I am funny.

I am a risk taker.

I am open to all ideas.

I am what I am.

I am a Walrus goo goo g’joob.

Clearly, embracing risk isn’t without its, er, risks and, like anything in life, it is worth remembering these four golden nuggets of wisdom when attempting something new:

1:) What do you want? If you know what you want you are much more likely to get it.

2:) Think of the positives. There must always be something in it for you. Remind yourself why you are doing what you are doing and what those benefits will look like.

3:) Recognise the obstacles. Be as sure as you can about what may get in the way to prevent you from moving forward. If you have an idea of what you might face you’ll be better prepared to navigate a way around it. Even if it’s a blank map with ‘Here be monsters’ on it, it’s better than nothing (unless you have a sat nav, in which case you’ll most probably end up lying in a ditch hearing the haunting, and repetitive refrain of ‘You’ve reached your destination’).

4:) Have the confidence to find out. Mr Micawber, in David Copperfield, says ‘Procrastination is the thief of time’, and it will also take all your money and your energy and leave you with nothing but the corduroy jacket you stand up in, unless you actually act upon what you have taken the effort and expense to read in this book. So, in the words of Hedley Lamarr in Blazing Saddles, ‘Go do that voodoo that you do so well.’¹

‘Confidence is half the battle’, they say. I shouldn’t imagine that’s official military advice … ‘Sorry, the guns have jammed and we’ve lost all our armour, but we still have positive body language; that ought to see us through some desert combat.’

Miles Jupp

1 If you haven’t seen the film Blazing Saddles then you should; it is very, very funny.

Chapter 2

What is a Sense of Humour and How to Define It

Men will confess to treason, murder, arson, false teeth, or a wig. How many of them will own up to a lack of humour?

Frank Colby More

It has been argued that a sense