The Teacher's Sense of Humour and the Atmosphere in the Classroom

Abstract

All education authorities require personality to be taken into account in the appointment of teachers in their schools. Yet supposing they also paid specific attention to the sense of humour of each applicant, and indeed, required that their teachers possess a good sense of humour conducive to a happy classroom atmosphere in order to contribute to improved academic achievement? One can imagine all sorts of arguments being raised against such a prerequisite, not the least of which would claim that it would discrimi nate against many very intelligent and able teachers who by their very nature do not possess a sense of humour. Although such a prerequisite is unlikely to be adopted, a sense of humour can be a major advantage to a teacher in the classroom, as the following article demonstrates.