Blog Post 24: Humor in Grammar Teaching

The reading summary is done by: William Bateman (ENGL300-1) and Michon Lindstrom (ENGL300-2)
Due by class time on: Friday, March 25th, 2011
The responses by the whole class are due by class time on: Monday, March 28th, 2011
The text you need to read is here.


The article "The Straw Man Meets His Match: Six Arguments for Studying Humor in English Classes" by Alleen Pace Nilsen and Don L. F. Nilsen is an interesting article that talks about how classrooms should integrate humor into teaching English. The authors argue that because there is humor in everyday life, that it should be taught in classrooms as well. The authors try to argue that for students to fully understand some humor that is in everyday life they must be given the tools and taught in the classroom.
The next argument they often hear is But Teaching Humor Will Take
Away from the Time I Need to Teach Grammar, Composition, Literature, and
Public Speaking. To this they say they first got interested in this because they were trying to find a more interesting way to teach grammar. They debate that if off-beat or different sentences are used to display grammar mistakes because "students will have fun while, developing a sense of differences between formal, edited English, and the casual kinds of mistakes that all of us make."(pg.35) They go on next to list ten things that make up what people find funny: 1. Surprise or Shock. 2. Superiority 3. Hostility 4. A trick or a Twist 5. Incongruity and Irony 6. Sudden Insight 7. Exaggeration 8. Succinct Word Play 9. Ambiguity 10. Situation
Another critque on this was But I'm Supposed to Be Preparing Kids to Earn a Living. In response to this the authors noted that since 1994 the number on jobs in the comedy field has grown drastically. Although, the chance of becoming a professional is still about as likely as becoming a professional athlete. But like with athletes, the ability to use and understand humor in everyday life can be beneficial for a person. They also say that humor allows people to solve problems using a more creative approach, since the need for surprise must be used in comedy it forces people to think from a different or hidden angle.
Other critics believe If I Bring Humor into My Class,I'll Have Censorship Problems. To this the authors agree that there can be a problem with this but that it is important for students to learn the connection between censorship and humor. And they argue that humor is a good way to teach censorship, and they can use what goes on in news as a way to learn it.
The next argument people use is Humor Hurts people's feelings. While the authors agree that this is true, they also argue that it can also put people in a better mood. To have the smiles outweigh the frowns students must learn how to balance them. Many teachers are afraid that jokes told in class will offend minority students. The authors argue that humor is actually a great tool when talking about cultural differences because: "when people are smiling they are
more likely to be open to new ideas and to new ways of looking at problems."(pg.39)
Finally, the last argument that they touch is But I Can't Teach about Humor
When I Can't Even Tell a Joke or Write a Funny Letter Home. The authors say that this is not a problem, and to use these classroom activities to help teach students English while having fun: First, writing parodies and pattern jokes. Next, students can bring in news clippings, that are humorous. Another thing that teachers can do is bring in or have students bring in humorous icons. And finally, teachers can give research paper topics that incorporate humor such as topics on humor in politics or humor in the internet.
The authors conclude the article by saying that teachers should ease slowly into teaching humor studies in the classroom. And that if the students are happy the parents will be happy, and the criticisms of this type of teaching won't happen.

by:Michon Lindstrom
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In this article, A. Nilsen and D. Nilsen give their arguments against six "straw man" claims that are made against teaching humor (a straw man is loosely defined as an argument made against an exaggerated or falsified version of someone else's argument).

The first straw man argument is that students receive enough comedy outside the school. However, the authors assert that students need to be taught more refined versions of comedy than what they find on TV and that it is the job of teachers to help students develop better taste and appreciation for more subtle forms of comedy. They give the experience of Jacque Hughes, a professor at Central Oklahoma University, as an example. Hughes' students had trouble understanding the humor in Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man Is Hard to Find until she was able to relate the book to the movie, "National Lampoon's Vacation." Most of the students had seen the movie and were able to find the similarities between it and the book. The authors claim that "it takes skill and practice, along with a broad, cultural background of knowledge, to understand a full range of humor." They say that without proper education, most students will never find more sophisticated humor.

The second straw man is the claim that teaching humor will take time away from more important lessons like composition, grammar, literature, and public speaking. The authors disagree. They feel that students are more likely to show interest in learning subjects if humor is incorporated into them. They give the example of using humorous sentences to teach dangling modifiers. They also feel that students who analyze humor will be more likely to move on to other forms of literary analysis. They list ten elements that often cause people to laugh: surprise or shock, superiority, hostility, a trick or twist, incongruity and irony, sudden insight, exaggeration, succinct word play, ambiguity, and situation.

The third straw man is the argument that school should be preparing students for their careers. The authors counter that humor is actually an important part of having a career for most people. For one, a small percentage of students may go on to be entertainers or comedy writers. Students who end up in high stress jobs will also find humor to be a necessary skill for cutting through their everyday stress. Even political figures need to have an aptitude for humor because it aids in effective communication. The authors also suggest that humor helps students develop creative problem solving skills because surprise is an important part of humor.

The fourth straw man argument claims that introducing humor will cause censorship problems. The authors agree that this is a possibility because a large part of humor is discussing controversial topics such as sex, religion, and ethnic differences. However, they argue that by bringing this into the classroom, teachers will be able to help students explore the relation of censorship to things like taste, appropriateness, tolerance, kindness, respect, sensitivity, and political correctness. It is also suggested that students are more willing to learn about censorship because it can easily be applied to elements of their popular culture, such as high school students who are suspended for wearing certain t-shirts.

Similarly, the fifth straw man argument is that humor could hurt people's feelings. The authors agree, but they make an analogy between humor and hammers. When used incorrectly, both have the ability to hurt. However, used properly, both can be used to build and create. While hammers build things such as houses, humor can build bridges between people with social differences. They argue that humor allows students with different backgrounds and lifestyles to cut through stereotypes and build better communication between each other. They give the example of a gay comedian who joked that homophobia is defined as "the irrational fear that someone is going to break into your house and redecorate it without your permission." The important thing is for teachers to help their students understand why it is considered okay for them to make jokes about their own cultural groups but not people from other groups.

The sixth and final straw man argument is simply the fear that many teachers don't understand humor well enough to teach it. The authors counter that humor is one subject where it's okay for students to be better than their teachers. Allowing students to bounce ideas off of each other and discuss amongst themselves can be an effective way to stimulate creativity.

The authors end by listing several activities that teachers can use for the purpose of teaching humor: writing parodies and pattern jokes, collecting humorous news clippings, collecting humor icons, and researching and writing about humor.

by: William Bateman