The Little Book of Laughter

Using humour as a tool to enagage and motivate all learners

Dave Keeling

• Publisher: Independent Thinking Press
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781781350089
• eBook ISBN: 9781781350430
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

There are physical, social and mental benefits that humour can bring to the learning environment - benefits such as creating openness, bravery, teamwork, imagination and creativity and, most of all, improving relationships between students and teachers. This book includes a brief history of laughter, gives you the rules of Funny and explains why having a laugh should be in your job description. Included are exercises to encourage laughter and techniques that will create an environment that is linked to encouraging and improving learning as well as a whole load of comical comments, quotes and, of course, gags.

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 of humour is, perhaps, the most important quality any person can possess. Let’s face it, would you admit to not having one? But what exactly is it and how do you define it?

Well, starting with the obvious, as most humour does, the Collins Concise Dictionary suggests humour is ‘the quality of being fun’ and ‘a state of mind’. (I tried looking in Webster’s American English Dictionary but they couldn’t even spell it properly.) A less obvious place to look for a definition is the seventeenth century, but this is where we find the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes referring to humour in the delightful phrase, a ‘sudden Glory’. In other words, he was describing that moment when a funny connection is made between things or people and explodes into a little ejaculation of joy (stop it!), or as one epigram goes: ‘Laughter is an orgasm triggered by the intercourse of sense and nonsense.’ (This book is starting to sound more like Fifty Shades of Wahey!)

Have a think about the last ‘sudden Glory’ you enjoyed (behave) and the effect that it had on you and those around you. Where do your lesson plans, your curriculum or your whole-school ethos make space for such sudden glories?

Humour and laughter are indeed bedfellows but they are, in fact, very different beings. Like Morecambe and Wise. So, while humour is something we can learn, hence this book, is laughter the same? The short answer is ‘no’. Although, that said, the long answer is also ‘no’.

Humour is a way of seeing the world, a way of processing information, a philosophy, an attitude, a lifestyle choice, a gift and a burden all at the same time. With a sense of humour, no matter what happens, you will always see the funny side. Useful at funerals. The trouble is, with a sense of humour, you always see the funny side. Dangerous at funerals. That said, once we know what humour really is, it opens up a whole world of possibility when it comes to engaging with others in a learning context. Although humour is very much an inner process, it is something that can be projected to others through visual cues, verbal communication, body language and other everyday means.

Comedians use humour as a way to communicate their worldview to an audience in a fun and entertaining way. When this is done with great skill, confidence, verbal dexterity and wit, we, the audience, get the benefit of the comedian’s humour, sharing with them, albeit briefly, the manner in which they see the world, looking at life through the lens of someone with a keen sense of the ridiculous in the serious. And, on a good day, we show our appreciation by not throwing things and, on a very good day, through the shared medium of laughter.

I know I’ve got a degree. Why does that mean I have to spend my life with intellectuals? I’ve got a lifesaving certificate but I don’t spend my evenings diving for a rubber brick with my pyjamas on.

Victoria Wood :-)-{8

So, it is clear that humour is an internal, cognitive processing tool, whereas laughter is the outer manifestation of the mirth, amusement and joy we are experiencing, the pay-off for the humour, the involuntary communicative act that lets someone know they have succeeded in their quest for funny, even if that was involuntary in a ‘man slip...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword
• Intro
• Section I: The World of Humour and Comedy
• Section II: Thirty Exercises to Build Rapport, Encourage Spontaneity, Get Their Creative Juices Flowing, Improve Learning and Make Everything Better
• Bibliography
• Index of Exercises
• List of lists
• Copyright