Garfield
is one of my closest friends. The alarm goes off around 4:30 am, I
reach for the laptop and see what Garfield is up to. As a substitute
teacher, I would bribe the class with his jokes. I'd draw his picture on
the board, put the questions to the riddle up and tell the kids I
wouldn't give them the punchline unless...the whole class could be
complete 15 minutes of work, or be good until recess, or clean up the
class. Whatever needed to be done. The rascaliest students really wanted
the joke, so everyone would cooperate. I told them I wasn't sure if it
was even legal to keep a punchline from them, it seemed like cruel and
unusual punishment (but I never had to withhold a punchline ever.) Humor
is a great break in the authoritarian regimen; and puns do teach
language arts in their multiple meaning words. Oh, the punchline: let me
call you Tweetheart. Maybe to be current I should change the riddle to,
''What did the boy bird text to the girl bird?'
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| Let me call you Tweetheart. |
''What did the boy bird text to the girl bird?'
“Humor
is a very important component of emotional health, maintaining
relationships, developing cognitive function and perhaps even medical
health,” said Allan Reiss, MD, who directs the Center for
Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research at Stanford. http://med.stanford.edu/ism/2012/january/reiss.html Most of us know the ancient proverb, 'A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.'
Leave it to Stanford to use an MRI to prove it! They hooked up kids and showed them funny and nonfunny material. I wonder how these jokes would do.
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| If you don't like cheese, don't read these! |
Here is some more silly:
Did you hear about the romance in the tropical fish tank?
It was a case of guppy love.
What did one piece of string say to the other piece of string?
Please be my valentwine!
What did the French chef give his wife for Valentine's Day?
A hug and a quiche.
What did the farmer give his wife for Valentine's Day?
Hogs and kisses.
What did Frankenstein ask his girlfriend?
Won't you be my Valenstein?
What is serious about this holiday is that some of our students are in difficult circumstances due to stressors in their families. They can't write a valentine to mom or dad or other relatives. They may be in the middle of a family break up, in foster care, or suffered a great loss. Our job is to be aware of this, first of all, and maybe have an additional activity to take the edge off the intensity of the student's actual life. Maybe valentines to mail to troops overseas, or to a local nursing home or hospital. Maybe a writing project to write an anecdote of a time someone showed kindness and love to the student. This could be emotional, but also cathartic. Life is tough, and the facade of the perfect family life is very difficult at times for many kids. Recalling a time of warmth and stability can be a positive moment on a dark day. I've had unique class situations where we could share such a writing project in discussion, and the other students were very supportive.
keeping it real. Real silly.
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| What did the boy bird say to the girl bird? |
