Reaching your students and maintaining their attention is one of the biggest challenges that teachers face. Humor in the classroom is your ally. If you can interest and entertain your students, then you can teach them something.
One way to interest your students is to make them laugh—everyone, especially teenagers, enjoys having a good time. And considering how much time during the week that you spend with your students, you might as well enjoy them. Otherwise, it is going to be a miserable experience for the teacher as well as for your students. Humor in the classroom overcomes many difficulties in
classroom management.
There are many methods that you can use to make your students’ laugh. For starters, use your personality. When a student asks if a particular answer to a question is right and it just happens to be wrong, say, “No soup for you” and walk off. It is just one of those quirky things that will allow your students to see your lighter side, your silly side, and to have a giggle.
Another way to is to read the roster one day in a very monotone voice, just like the spokesman for the “Have dry eyes, use Clear Eyes” commercial. Students will crack up as they think you have completely gone nuts.
A good response when a student implies a teacher’s craziness is to say, “I know I am, but my doctor says that I am doing much better.” Most students will know that you are joking; however, a few will cling to their belief that you are nuts as they have just accepted the fact already.
To elicit laughter from your class, walk up to a student--one who sleeps during class is ideal--and hold his arm in your hand as if you are taking the student’s pulse. Stand there a minute and then walk off. This is sure to get the attention of the other students and is really entertaining.
Students should look forward to coming to your class, and if so, they will be excited and eager to learn.
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