Today, rather than share new ideas for bringing humour into the classroom, I'm going to share some short personal stories of successful pranks and light-hearted fun.
I believe that humour is an essential part of life. Sure, not everyone would see the funny side of their car being stolen or completely messed up, but laughter is a medicine. While on the car topic, I'll jump to high school memories. There is always at least one class clown. One boy in particular would show up wearing an odd combination of both sports uniform and normal uniform as sports day was rescheduled and he didn't know which uniform to wear. On another day, he brought a jar of vegemite to school. He then proceeded to rub vegemite under the door handle of the principal's car, as well as a few classroom handles. The outdoor ed teacher was the first to come in our classroom with a black hand. He simply walked in and raised his hand and the class erupted with laughter. He took the joke in the good spirit it was intended. However, when the principal discovered the vegemite on his car, the clown was sentenced to washing every staff car during his lunch hour. This event actually helped inspire my own pranks on my husband's car. Many people have had a good laugh hearing the squeal he emitted upon discovering the vegemite smeared on his hand (it was videoed and placed on facebook along with a humorous threat for revenge).
I still remember my two favourite teachers in primary school due to their sense of humour. My grade 5/6 teacher loved telling embarrassing stories. I remember her 'getting to know us' by asking us for our embarrassing stories. Those brave enough spoke up and I can't remember any of those stories. I don't think I will ever forget hearing my teacher then confess her story though! She was wearing a pair of pants that were a little too tight. Then she dropped something... Bending down to pick it up, she heard that dreadful sound: her pants had ripped in front of the whole class. Her response? She stood up and laughed about it!
My grade 3/4 teacher was a prankster all year long. He was known as 'the ghost' in my little brothers class as he was constantly pranking them and never caught. Once, he snuck into their classroom, which was next door, during the lunch hour, and set an alarm on the computers. Their silent reading time was interrupted that day by the Richmond Tigers footy club song. In our class, his humour was sometimes more subtle. We were studying something in science (he is the only teacher I remember who made science enjoyable for me!) and he asked us a question. He gave two options for answers and asked us to stand depending on what we thought the answer was. The whole class stood by the first option. One lone boy stood for the second. When asked to explain his answer, he replied, "I don't know why, but the other answer seemed too obvious." Our teacher got a kick out of this, and it turned out the joke was on us as the entire class, except that one student, had chosen the wrong answer.
Jumping forward a few years into college, we had a math teacher known as 'the dragon' due to her no-nonsense views. However, she was always late to class. Yesterday, I was reading a prank where the teacher says the students are running the class for the day while she sits back to see what happens. In our case, she was late to class and we just took over the class. One of the louder students stood at the front of the class, told us to open our books and had us begin solving the questions on the board. To her credit, when our teacher walked in, she walked to the back of the class and took an empty seat and played student. However, the student concluded the problem and went to move on before it was finished. Our teacher then raised her hand, being a polite student, to point out that the problem wasn't yet finished. It was after that she took back her whiteboard marker and rightful position. I dream of the day when my students are out to a specialist class and I can walk into a colleague's classroom and take over. "Oh, there's a parent wanting to see you at the office. Your class looks to know what they are doing. I can watch them for you." "Oh, there wasn't any one there to see you? How strange."
So there's my few stories with little ideas for the staff room, the class next door, your own students, and your favourite colleague. April 1st is the perfect excuse, but with laughter being a good medicine, there's no reason you can't do it at unexpected times and become the memorable teacher.
Want some more ideas on how to inject some humour into the classroom? Here you go:
- Sunny Days in Second Grade - April Fool's Day Classroom Fun: Send your class on a search for 'the elusive lirpaloof bird' and get some photos of them all waving carrots in the air.
- New Teachers - How to Use Humour As a Tool in the Classroom: Reasons why we should utilise humour and humour we should be wary of.
- Hub Pages - Teachers Rule: Top Ten Pranks To Pull On Students: Some of these may be best suited for older students or specific circumstances, but there's some gems.
As a final disclaimer, don't forget to pick your targets carefully (to avoid washing every car in the staff parking lot at least) and remember respect. Some students and colleagues wouldn't find these amusing. Others are practically asking for it. Any other epic ideas out there to help us let our hair out every now and then, get a giggle and release some tension?
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