Paul Brownlows Missed Class February 10, 1999

Classroom Management: Laughing Matters

Presented by: Pauline Nuhring

Paulines presentation dealt with humor in the classroom. I believe that atmosphere does influence education. The more relaxed and safe a student feels in the classroom, the more apt he/she is going to learn. If they can focus on academics rather than personal safety, children will learn more of the concepts teachers are teaching.

Today more focus has been put on the fulfillment of life. People decide and can control how they react to a situation. This has been very true for me. Sometimes students say things just to see what my reaction will be. If I am very calm, they often times will not repeat the question or statement, but if I react in an extreme manner they have accomplished what they had in mind. This extreme reaction does nobody any good, and gets nothing solved. When a teacher can have a relaxed demeanor, I feel more students will have more respect for the teacher.

My goal as a teacher is to make the classroom environment stimulating. I feel a major component is personal safety. If students feel safe coming to my classroom, I feel I am doing a great job. I want a class that students have fun while they are learning. This has taken some time and experience, but I feel I am moving in the right direction. On a personal note, my life has become less stressful because I deal with tense situations in a very different manner. This manner includes thinking before I respond. I might take a couple of days to solve the problem at hand, but the solution takes care of the problem without much argument.

Education is reforming at rapids speeds. There are so many new strategies to help students learn better. Laughter is one of those methods. Before, a teachers classroom was thought of as out of control due to the noise level. Nowadays, classrooms are thought of being dull and non-conducive to learning if they are held at a mum. Noise shows that learning is occurring for the most part and that is a new revelation in the field of education.

Submitted by:

Paul Brownlow

-- Anonymous, March 22, 1999