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EED Classic: The Value and Risk of Humor
June 9, 2023
When people care for you they can straighten out your soul.
-Langston Hughes
-Langston Hughes
Twenty years ago, ExchangeEveryDay had this to say:
Humor eases tension and speeds learning at work, says Peter Desberg, a professor at California State University, Dominguez Hills, in the Wall Street Journal (September 16, 1986). According to Desberg...
"Nurses who can joke about death are better at coping with the stress of dying patients than nurses who can't appreciate such humor. But a businessman who tells great jokes won't get more information across unless the humor is related to his point. Joking in the workplace usually backfires if it's hostile or in poor taste. Puns often damage communication because they're aimed at proving the punster's cleverness and get in the way of making a point."
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Comments (2)
Displaying All 2 CommentsEugene, OR, United States
Shawna, yes, thank you for making such an important point!
Carrboro, NC, United States
I think it’s also important to remember that children at different stages aren’t able to fully understand some jokes. While appropriate humor can be effective in developing children’s language & cognitive skills, the wrong joke can created emotional-social barriers to learning.
I’ve counseled with teachers whose attempts to use humor with children, especially dry/sarcastic humor, backfired and hurt children’s feelings. This result can diminish the trust children may have in the adult and like Rita Pierson has said “children don’t learn from people they don’t like”.
No different than using jokes with adults, humor should be intentional and appropriate.
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