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Abstract: Humour can be of great use in the classroom. It can build a sense of trust and community, encourage creativity, and can open another avenue of communication with your students. But humour can also cause problems. It can create confusion by blurring boundaries and, if used carelessly, can make students feel the subject of ridicule. When using humour in the classroom it is important to keep in mind how and why you are using it so that you do not "step over the line" - this is especially difficult because there is not one "line" but many.
As an educator especially as someone who engages in the delicate act of encouraging creativity, I have always been highly attuned to the power of humour in a classroom. Humour can help develop a sense of trust and belonging, and can help build a playful and creative environment where students are more likely to take risks and more willing to share their creations. I am often brought in to conduct song writing workshops in intermediate school classes and I've noticed that many students who are hesitant to express their thoughts and feelings directly are quite comfortable expressing themselves through humour. Humour, therefore, can not only help in establishing a positive setting for creation, it can also be part of the creation itself. Unfortunately, there is also a dark side of humour. It is easy to get carried away as some recent events have demonstrated:
Windsor, Ontario. February, 2012. A teacher suspects his students of snooping through his desk. Knowing that the students are interested in finding out what their grade 8 graduation trip will be, he decides to pull a prank on them. With the help of some other teachers he places Disney World pamphlets on his desk for the students to discover. It works. Soon the students are talking about their year-end trip to Disney World. The next day the teachers take it a step further. The students are brought into the gymnasium where they are given a PowerPoint presentation about the trip to Disney World. Then, the joke is revealed. The students aren't going to Disney World; they are going to a bowling alley. (Their disappointed reaction is recorded on an iPad and...