Laughter and Humor is a Serious Thing

They say that modern teachers lack a sense of humor, cheerfulness, and optimism. This reduces the efficiency of pedagogical work. The author of the article believes that it is possible to learn to laugh and joke, to develop the ability not to lose heart, to understand and use a joke in one's work. How to do it in work with children and adults? What contributes to this? What is the relationship between student and children's subcultures? How their laughter character is manifested and how is the laughter culture of a person formed? This will be discussed in the article that may be useful to parents, teachers and students of pedagogical specialties-future educators.

In life, a sense of humor specialists associate with social competence, the ability to work together, initiative and leadership. Identifying and realizing this dependence, together with students and colleagues, we begin to understand that laughter is “a serious matter” and it should be treated responsibly. This is especially true of teachers.

Russian and international researches give the basis for the statement that reasonable use of humor by teachers increases efficiency of educational process, leads to more positive perception of the studied material, the carried-out activity, the personality of the teacher. Moreover, speaking about humor as one of the educational resources of the teacher, some specialists link together the development of humor and the purpose of education [1].

In this regard, the task of influencing the development of a sense of humor of educators and teachers becomes obvious. The fact that this area of our “pedagogical Kingdom” is not okay, can be seen with the naked eye. The scientific community represented by the Academy of pedagogical and social Sciences several years ago marked the lack of humor and cheerfulness as a factor that negatively affects the overall performance of teachers. Some skeptics note: laughter and jokes are not for our reality with great amount of different problems! And if there is no sense of humor? And can we learn wit?

Thirty years of work in the pedagogical University as the head of the Department of pedagogy and psychology, Dean of the faculty, Vice-rector for educational and social work, convinced the author of these lines that you can learn to joke, understand and use a joke in their work. This is greatly facilitated by the participation of students – future teachers in cultural and leisure activities. It should be considered as a resource for improving the training of future specialists, the development of a sense of humor of any person. "So that is about а person" -reader-skeptic would say. Isn't it about the humanization of all modern education? Do not we strive to "humanize" all our work – with children in the first place? It is really not relevant to sound the call of the well-known Russian teacher and psychologist Pavel Blonsky,"A teacher, be a human!" [2].

Talking about the human race in his novel "Teenager", the most outstanding feature of any of us was defined by M. Dostoyevsky as "the gaiety of a man", and laughter as the most faithful soul of a man [3]. And it is no accident the problem of laughter, humor, their role and place in human life were treated for many centuries foreign scholars Hippocrates and Aristotle, M. Aurelius and F. Rabelais, Ch. Darwin and I. Kant, S. Freud and A. Schopenhauer, etc. as well as the great minds of Russia, among which S. Averintsev, M. Bakhtin, A. Herzen, D. Likhachev, M. Lotman and many others. Turning to the texts of their research will be not only a pleasure itself, but will also help to understand the origins of laughter, its importance in human life, the transformation of society better.

However, it is important for a future teacher to not only read and learn about laughter, about the culture of laughter, but to "dive" into it. Here, as, according to Lev Vygotsky and supporters of his school, in any business, personal experience of experiences, accommodation of various relevant situations is important. Student life gives many opportunities for this, starting with the Festival of Students’ life beginning (festival in Russia for the first-course students, symbolizes the beginning of student life). In our work with students, we practiced on the eve of the international day of students holiday "Vivat, Gaudeamus!", the festival of laughter "Pribambasy", a family evening of the faculty, which collected both current, former and potential future students, the traditional skit "Equator", Tatiana's day, April fool's humor, etc.

The participation of all – teachers and students – is important in this work. This is an important condition of the carnival culture, according to M. Bakhtin, stressing that the festive laughter is national. Therefore, it was not shameful for the Dean of the faculty to sing a song for freshmen:

• In the first minutes
• God created institutes
• One of the first students was Adam
• He loved Eve
• It’s hard to believe
• But God took away his fellowship, pam pam ... etc

And with a joyful applause of everybody present to finish singing together with them about the merry student life:

• From exams to exams
• Students live joyfully
• And exams are only twice a year

These words of the student song perfectly reflect the laughable nature of the whole cultural and leisure life of students, which rejects and does not accept boredom, mentoring, obsessive didacticism, boredom. By the way, even in the test-examination period cheerfulness does not leave students. This is manifested, for example, in funny rites associated with the desire to "expel" and "prevent" hostile forces to the fate of the student going "into battle" for knowledge.

There are many examples of wishes of luck on exams: «Ni pukha, ni pera» - in Russian, «Break a leg» - in English (that means good luck on exams). Probably, many students went through the rituals associated with the call and "satisfaction" of "Freebuy" (creature of student folk, helping to pass exams easily), or other magical actions (e.g.: putting a five-ruble coin under the heel before the exam, boiling a coin of the same value in milk on a candle or collecting in the record book of lucky bus or trolleybus tickets – in Russia, jump on one leg around the monument – in Poland, or cry loudly at midnight in English-speaking countries).

Thus mastering the student subculture, the future teacher is easier then to accept and recognize the existence of children's subculture, through which the child acquires its essence, constructs its own world. For example, teasers and callers, ridiculing whining, greed of some children, perform an educational function, help the child to defend themselves against attacks of peers in the form of verbal self-defense, train emotional stability and self-control.

We can remember the wish for a child «Grow big-don’t be a pig» and an answer of a child: «I can’t hear, shut up, my dear».

Or:

Stephen, Stephen giant

Very very kind

Ate a plate with a cake

Then he had a stomach-ache.

To make somebody to share something children say: Give me a half-this is enough.

The answer could be: Lollipop, lollipop, I ‘m not a shop. Children tease for being greedy: Zhadina-govyadina (in Russia), Cheater Cheater apple eater!-in England

Children called friends to play:

Hey, hey! Let’s play!

There were the words-antics for guys-snobs, too:

Silence in the courtroom! The monkey wants to speak

Whoever speaks now is the monkey for a week

Here is a teaser for tattletale:

Bla-bla-bla, chatter-box

You are like a crazy fox

But there are some phrases for response:

«Twinkle, twinkle, little star! What you say is what you are!».

In outdoor games, to pause and rest a little, an unwritten rule required the use of a code word and speaking:

One, two- tie your shoe

Three, four - I close the door

Seven, eight - I am late

Nine, oh - let me go.

Sometimes children in games kicked somebody out of busy space:

Go out, Mrs. Stout! Go down, Mr. Brown!

Sometimes children laughed over smb’s mistakes:

You should, you should

Be careful and good;

There was an answer for it:

I am okay I have no pain

Children were snide when someone tried to refuse their words:

The first word is a diamond the second is a stone

It was possible to object to it

The first word was eaten by cow, the second was said by the person wow!

A kind of children's “threat”:

I will knife you with a cut, you will leg your jerks and cockerel like a crow

Seen as children having fun, exposing and mangling different names in this teaser:

Miss Margo - undergo, overgo, go, go.

Or:

Mister Brown - down town

Jack - black crack

Masha - kasha, Valerka - tarelka (in Russia)

Sometimes children tease educators:

Teacher cleans her teeth again- wants to eat the whole train.

However, children's subculture is not only the fruit of children's creativity. It is specially designed for children - written tales, fables, nursery rhymes, riddles, etc. these include the so-called "riddle-mistakes". In these puzzles there is one highlight: they really want to answer incorrectly. They can teach a child to think, to be more attentive and not to succumb to different tricks. And they contribute to the development of a sense of humor. Here are some examples of such puzzles for possible use in the work of the teacher and communication of parents with children

It is necessary to joke and laugh with children. It is important not to be shy to seem ridiculous. Fool around-it will give strength and fun to you and the child. Try to look for familiar objects in completely inappropriate places (glasses, for example, in the refrigerator, Slippers - in the sink for dishes). Tell your child funny, pay attention on the street to funny signs and funny coincidences. Ironically, but do not forget to start to explain what irony is – children do not understand its nature. After the irony will come a time of sarcasm, beware of him, as sarcastic notes very often hurt the feelings of others.

Educate, develop a child's sense of humor - a serious and important task! The ability to notice the funny in everyday life will help the child to paint boring everyday life, and the ability to laugh at yourself will make it easier to overcome the life troubles that arise on the way. In this regard, it is appropriate to recall the words from the famous song to the words of V. Lugovoi: "Let capricious success, he chooses from those who can be the first to laugh at himself" [4]. Moreover, such a well-known researcher of laughter culture as M. Bakhtin noted the productive role of laughter and called it "the midwife of new seriousness" [5]. The teacher, like, perhaps, no one else, is entrusted with the most serious-work with the future, with children. This activity a priori should be imbued with optimism, because it is associated with hopes for the future, and the acquisition of the meaning of life, without which, according to researchers, it becomes bleak, the man himself becomes a pessimist, apathetic and a whiner [6].

According to the fair remark of Anton Makarenko, "a person should be happy." This, in turn, is possible with a developed ability to realize, to bring the joy of tomorrow [7]. Vasilij Suhomlinskij believed that children cannot live without laughter at all. In addition, the task of an adult, a teacher is to help the child "to see the funny, joyful, and surprised." And one of the most upsetting mistakes of the teacher he called gloom, irritability, and even more anger because of children's laughter [8].

In general, we see how important it is to carry out purposeful work to develop a sense of humor among students – future teachers. This is important in any case: whether they will become teachers and will influence the formation of their laugh culture in their work with children, or they will not work in the field of education, but will be parents and will also have to influence the development of their children's sense of humor. Sense of humor is the basis of optimism and is not only an aspect of human behavior, but also a condition for the success of human life, regardless of the scope of activity and life in general. It is a phenomenon in itself that deserves further and special study.

1. Martin R. Psychology of humor. Saint Petersburg; Peter. 2009.
2. Blonskij PP. Zadachi i metody novoj narodnoj shkoly (Tasks and methods of the new folk school). June 10, 2022.
3. Dostoevskij FM. Podrostok (Teenager). May 10, 2022.
4. Lugovoj V. Prosnis’ I Poj (Wake up and sing). June 10, 2022.
5. Bahtin MM. Tvorchestvo Fransua Rable i narodnaya kul'tura Srednevekov'ya i Renessansa (The work of Francois Rabelais and the folk culture of the middle Ages and the Renaissance). June 10, 2022.
6. Bondyreva SK, KolesovDV. Migraciya (sushchnost' i yavlenie)(Migration (essence and phenomenon)). Moscow; Voronezh. 2004. p.227.
7. Makarenko AS. Chelovek Dolzhen Byt’ Schastlivym (A Person Should Be Happy). June 10, 2022.
8. Suhomlinskij VA. Mudraya vlast' kollektiva (Metodika vospitaniya kollektiva) (Wise power of the team (Method of educating the team). June 23, 2022.