FluFF IS In rhe rruck.Bang! Bang\Flu FF IS a shfF.John con jump C\Bang!John has a l ruck~ruck.'Sa~, le~ us skip} 1\ sa~s BeH-~.John and Berry run .AF~er rh,s, John Gnd Be~~~ sk(p.tlRock w'l~h ~he cool eel, doll.»John p\d~S?tIOsolo mia-ow. DBe~r~ 15She canJohn sa~slike versohle, ~oo .can can ro rock .she can.STRUAN
CLASSR,O:OM"HUMO,UR"Dawn DaviesIn the realm of teaching, we, as students, areapt to become a part of many amusing and oftenembarrassing situations which occur in the classroom.It is our job to adjust ourselves to theviews of the teacher of our current grade, andto accept, as far as possible, his sense of humour.Failure to do this could result in a " crit" somethinglike this:" . . . A good lesson, but a little more humouron your part would not go astray. For instance,when you fell from the top of the blackboardwhere you were arranging flowers, it was ratheramusing in the children's eyes. The picture ofan adult lying flat out on the floor, covered withflowers and with water gently dripping onto hisface from an upturned vase above the blackboard,was not what could be termed an unfunny sight,even in the eyes of another adult, let alone thoseof young children. Perhaps it would not havebeen out of place if you had joined with thechildren in their obvious amusement."This could be termed a sadistic sense of humour.This is also illustrated by the type of teacherwho pokes fun at the child who rushes into theroom after just having his five front teeth knockedout."Never mind, Johnny, just think - you won'thave to clean your teeth every morning now ."Poor Johnny, bewildered, looks up with tear-filledeyes and flve gaping, blood-filled holes. Theteacher, obviously thinks so as he is crippled byhis own wit and is already boasting of his brillianceto other members of staff.STRUANAnother type of humour often found in the classroomis that not planned, not expected, not Intended,the "faux pas" made by many.An example of this is given by the teacher who ,giving a lesson on cheese to grade V, rubbisheda very well-known brand. She continued runningit down for about ten minutes. Next day she reoceived a letter asking her to explain her outburstagainst this brand of cheese. Unknown tothe teacher, a member of her grade was thedaughter of a top executive of the firm .The next type of teacher found is the one whojokes at an adult level to the children. Thereforethe only person likely to enjoy the joke is thestudent teacher in his room. An example of thisoccurs when a child making a comment remindsthe teacher of an amusing incident or joke he hasheard. At the end of the child's comment, onewill hear . . . "That reminds me of this chap Iknew in the army way back in 1943 . • . etc".where the teacher relates, in vivid detail, theman, the joke he told, its effect on the "sarg",etc . By the end of fifteen minutes the childrenare fidgeting, talking and otherwise amusing themselves,entirely disregarding their clowning teacherat the front of the room.At the end of the teacher's reminiscence we findhim speaking to the student alone, having rorgottenhis class who are now running riot.Another teacher who would quite easily driveyou up a wall is the one who twists everythingthe child says into a witticism. The bright youngchild during morning talk, has just told how hisfather went fishing and caught seven eels. Thechild casually mentions that his father smoked theeels , then they ate them. At this point, our teacherright on the ball, retorts: "Can't your fatherafford a pipe?" which he follows with raucouslaughter. This is reasonably subtle for thirdgrade children, who, five minutes later, gigglestupidly, elated that they have understood teacher'sjoke.The result of this is a grade of children whoare continually making a joke out of what issaid - twisting it to suit the purpose, e.g.First Boy: "I'm tired."Second Boy: "I'm Bob - how do you do?"Perhaps the most tiresome jokster is the teacherwho hits upon a joke which is successful in itsfirst airing but who continues to use this joke atthe least provocation. This is not restricted to teachersin schools, however, as we find it very prevalentin Teachers' College lectures, e.g. that timewornline to the student late for lecture: "Haveyou brought the Herald?"We find an example of this in the school-roomwhere the following comments are worn to deathin every grade in every school, everywhere:"You'd lose your head if It wasn't screwed on",blank stares from the children."You'd be late for your own funeral" - wherethe children sit back in their seats, heave a greatsigh and give a wan smile in the direction of theirclass-mates.. . . And so they go on. There is a never-endingchain of teachers - and, as this chain continues,so do the various ways of creating laughter in theclass-room. While we remain in the college, wemust grin and bear what we hear in anotherteacher's class. However, wait until next year whenwe, the new blood, will bound into the field. Thiswill be the birth of a new group of teachers with a new brand of humor.Page Thirteen
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