Search the net using the key words “Humor” and “Teaching” or read Diane Loomans’ The Laughing Classroom (available from Amazon.com for pound;10.08) to remind yourself that for US educators humour is a vital weapon in a teacher’s armoury. It helps pupils to relax, to be attentive, to retain information, to look at topics in a new way - and even to entertain the unlikely notion that their teacher might be human.
If you can’t quite see yourself in the role of comic or have reached that point where you can no longer see the funny side of your subject, don’t give up on humour - rely instead on the net’s inexhaustible range of resources. The best place to start is laughlab.co.uk - the University of Hertfordshire’s ambitious use of the net to collect jokes and people’s responses to them. As well as allowing pupils to participate in this unique experiment, the site contains teaching materials that can be used in various subjects including citizenship, English, ICT and science.
Science teachers will also want to explore The Science Humor Webring at xs4all.nljcdverhascihumwebring.html where they’ll find parodies, puns and ideas for lessons. Maths teachers in search of light relief will appreciate Bamdad’s Math Comics Page at csun.eduhcmth014comics.html.
Teachers of design and technology should visit btinternet.coma.ghinnheath.htm to view a wonderful selection of Heath-Robinson’s creations. Art teachers can download inavulable material from the net’s many celebrations of the cartoon, including the University of Kent’s archive at http:library.ukc.ac.ukcartoonsmain.html. Modern Language teaching is amply served by the net’s huge range of comics, cartoons and fun learning from around the world. But French teachers won’t need to waste time online if they can beg, borrow or steal videos of The Adventures of Eddie Izzard, Exchange Student and Channel Hopping - the superb series the comedian made for Channel 4‘s schools’ broadcasting. And if that weren’t enough, French classes also have the luxury of being allowed to read Asterix in the original!
Asterix, in translation, on the other hand offers History classes background material on the Romans. Other historical periods are covered in Jim Hatfield’s popular Horrible Histories series (Scholastic). And, of course, there’s always dear old Blackadder.
