The Importance Of Using Humor In The Classroom
Without a doubt, education is a matter of great relevance for the advancement of any society. However, this does not mean that it should be a rigid, solemn and stressful task. On the contrary, introducing humor into the classroom has been shown to have great benefits for both students and teachers.
All of us, to a greater or lesser degree, go through negative experiences and emotions during our student days. Many remember the pressure, the shame, the fear of the teacher and the atmosphere so heavy we breathed where we spent most of our days.
Fortunately, educational models are beginning to change and more and more teachers are striving to make learning a rewarding experience.
Humor is the basis of learning
We can think of humor as anything that arouses laughter, fun, and positive emotions in us. This includes jokes, games, pranks and a wide variety of other stimuli.
Humor stimulates our brain reward circuit in a simple and healthy way. That’s why children use games to discover the world around them.
When playing, they explore, discover and rehearse important behaviors. But this is done in a relaxed and rewarding way. So whenever they can, they resort to play to experience those positive emotions again.
It is already clearly established that the most important learnings occur only when they are associated with an emotion, even more when it is pleasant. So why not resort to humour, this valuable tool, to help children and young people appreciate knowledge?
Benefits of using humor in the classroom
Reduces stress and increases motivation
The learning process can be difficult. Students often face frustrations, failures, boredom and tension. The classroom becomes a stressful environment that generates negative emotions. This can lead to earlier and earlier anxiety and depressive symptoms.
Likewise, the teacher, immersed in this tense and exhausting environment every day, can end up suffering from burnout and have his mood affected.
Introducing humor into the classroom helps to create a positive and relaxed atmosphere, in which error does not imply rejection or humiliation, and in which pleasant emotions of cooperation and empathy predominate.
Undoubtedly, this will contribute to both teachers and students achieving greater happiness and quality of life. And, additionally, it will also motivate both groups to carry out their work in a more willing and enthusiastic way.
When learning is enjoyable and fun, when it generates positive feelings, who doesn’t want to keep learning?
Approaches and promotes learning
Teaching largely involves a social relationship. The teacher must be able to capture the student’s attention and communicate information appropriately. Likewise, relationships between peers are also very important. Humor favors closeness, intimacy and cohesion between people.
Barriers are destroyed and a very stimulating interpersonal trust is forged. Thus, thanks to humor, tensions are eased, there is more proximity and the communicative effect is promoted. After all, it has been shown that fun information attracts more attention and is more easily recorded in memory.
Promotes mental flexibility
Aspects such as creativity, cognitive flexibility and analytical skills are essential for life. However, schools often implement rigid teaching that does not allow for the active involvement of students in learning. Thus, they become mere passive recipients of previously elaborated information, which do not even arouse their curiosity.
The implementation of humor in the classroom favors that students have an alert, flexible and open mind. It encourages divergent thinking skills and helps them develop broader perspectives.
What should the mood be like in the classroom?
Certainly, not every kind of humor will be beneficial. Ridiculing, humiliating or laughing at someone else’s expense will only lead to suffering and division. The humor to be used should be focused on facilitating social relationships and relativizing failure.
Therefore, we should use jokes that unite the group, giving students a sense of belonging and encouraging a relaxed and positive attitude towards mistakes, seeing them as a natural part of the process.
