Teaching With Comedy

Evan Hoovler uses his decades of comedy experience to engage students in the classroom--and now he's sharing all his secrets in Teaching With Comedy. Any teacher can become more effective and engaging by laughing along with these simple exercises. Instead of using "look-at-me" tactics to get students' attention, Hoovler wants to do the opposite--he uses humor to focus attention on the lesson (not the instructor) and guide a distracted class back on track. With anecdotes and explanations, Hoovler walks you through how to use certain jokes to keep students engaged and on task. You'll get prompts and ideas for exercises to use in your own classes, from an expert with decades of experience. Even those who aren't teachers will enjoy this seasoned educator's Dave Barry-esque takes on public schools, the history of teaching, educational philosophy, and what exactly makes a joke-telling teacher good versus unbearably corny. Teaching with Comedy is the perfect gift for any teacher or comedy fan seeking light-but-meaningful reading fare.

Loomans, creator of The Laughing Classroom programs, and Kolberg, founder of the Comedy Sportz improvisation theater company, describe how to build education on a foundation of silliness. They do not provide an index. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Hilarious, cringe-inducing stories about teachers, students and parents, from CBC star of Mr. D, one of Canada's hottest comedic talents. Gerry Dee is a rising comic star whose humour has been compared to Bill Cosby's. He spent ten years working as a teacher and survived (barely) to tell his tales. Told from the honest point-of-view of a not-so-good, often-very-bad public school teacher--the kind who teaches hungover (and lies about it), loses his students' exams (and lies about it), and stages an impromptu baseball game in the middle of history class just to kill some time, Teaching: It's Harder Than It Looks is Mr. D at his best. This book collects Gerry's funniest anecdotes about teaching, about students and about their parents. As Gerry's ode to school life, it's sure to bring back a memory or two, whether you were the teacher's pet or the class clown. Throughout, he offers tongue-in-cheek "Teacher Tips and Tricks," uncomfortable notes to parents, awkward report cards and all manner of memorabilia of school days. He's extremely funny, on the page as well as in person, and he's the kind of personality who will reach out beyond his own core comedy audience to a broad demographic of educators, parents and students who relate to his humour and experiences.

WALL STREET JOURNAL, LOS ANGELES TIMES, AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER • Anyone—even you!—can learn how to harness the power of humor in business (and life), based on the popular class at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. Don’t miss the authors’ TED Talk, “Why great leaders take humor seriously,” online now. “The ultimate guide to using the magical power of funny as a tool for leadership and a force for good.”—Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of When and Drive We are living through a period of unprecedented uncertainty and upheaval in both our personal and professional lives. So it should come as a surprise to exactly no one that trust, human connection, and mental well-being are all on the decline. This may seem like no laughing matter. Yet, the research shows that humor and laughter are among the most valuable tools we have at our disposal for strengthening bonds and relationships, diffusing stress and tension, boosting resilience, and performing when the stakes are high. That’s why Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas teach the popular course Humor: Serious Business at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where they help some of the world’s most hard-driving, blazer-wearing business minds infuse more humor and levity into their work and lives. In Humor, Seriously, they draw on findings by behavioral scientists, world-class comedians, and inspiring business leaders to reveal how humor works and—more important—how you can use more of it, better. Aaker and Bagdonas unpack the theory and application of humor: what makes something funny, how to mine your life for material, and simple ways to identify and leverage your unique humor style. They show how to use humor to rebuild vital connections; appear more confident, competent, and authentic at work; and foster cultures where levity and creativity can thrive. President Dwight David Eisenhower once said, “A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.” If Dwight David Eisenhower, the second least naturally funny president (after Franklin Pierce), thought humor was necessary to win wars, build highways, and warn against the military-industrial complex, then you might consider learning it too.

Evan Hoovler uses his decades of comedy experience to engage students in the classroom—and now he’s sharing all his secrets in Teaching With Comedy. Any teacher can become more effective and engaging by laughing along with these simple exercises. Instead of using “look-at-me” tactics to get students’ attention, Hoovler wants to do the opposite—he uses humor to focus attention on the lesson (not the instructor) and guide a distracted class back on track. With anecdotes and explanations, Hoovler walks you through how to use certain jokes to keep students engaged and on task. You’ll get prompts and ideas for exercises to use in your own classes, from an expert with decades of experience. Even those who aren’t teachers will enjoy this seasoned educator’s Dave Barry-esque takes on public schools, the history of teaching, educational philosophy, and what exactly makes a joke-telling teacher good versus unbearably corny. Teaching with Comedy is the perfect gift for any teacher or comedy fan seeking light-but-meaningful reading fare.

Eddie Brown found himself in a spot most teachers know all too well: Some days he loved his job, and other days he hated it. Teaching gave him money to take care of his family and a sense of fulfillment. But the culture, the work, the bureaucracy, and the stress wore him out. He walked a thin line between inspiration and despair. Each new school year, he’d give his relationship with academia another try, rolling the dice and praying to avoid a breakup. Things improved when he started coping with his struggles by engaging with them through comedy, joining the Teachers Only Comedy Tour. He went from performing on local stages in Houston in front of a few dozen people to telling jokes in major arenas and theaters across the country. From Charlotte to New York City, Dallas to Biloxi, Baton Rouge to Seattle, Montgomery to Denver, and countless other cities across America, tens of thousands of supportive fans have welcomed him with open arms, loud cheers, and contagious laughter. Join the author as he shares the struggles of what it means to be a teacher and celebrates the significance of mentoring, educating, and encouraging students.

Paul Bae is now a highly regarded comedian, podcaster, and the director of the Marvel Studios podcast Marvels, but he was once a high school English teacher. One day, during his student-teaching practicum, Paul Bae assigned weekend homework to the class. “You suck,” a student muttered. Mr. Bae turned on his heel, approached the student. “What did you say?” “Sorry. You suck, sir,” the student replied. Mr. Bae promptly returned to his desk, took out his teaching journal, and wrote down the exchange, which would become the first entry of hundreds of recorded encounters with students. Over the course of twelve years of teaching English, "Mr. Bae" -- or more simply, “Sir” -- kept several journals in which he recorded conversations he had with his students. You Suck, Sir presents the best of those conversations. Ranging from outrageously funny to touchingly poignant, these vignettes are full of heart. Paul’s stories are an irreverent, honest glimpse of teaching and learning and an inspiring peek into the connection one teacher has with his students. Both educators and anyone who has ever been a student will see themselves and their daily triumphs and struggles reflected here. You Suck, Sir is the latest title to be published under the Robin’s Egg Books imprint. Robin’s Egg Books features some of the freshest, smartest, and above all, funniest writing on a variety of culturally relevant subjects. Titles in the imprint are curated and edited by comedian, playwright, and author Charles Demers.

From Shakespeare to The Simpsons, comedy has long provided both entertainment and social commentary. It may critique cultural values, undermine authority, satirize sacred beliefs, and make room for the marginalized to approach the center. Comedy can be challenging to teach, but in the classroom it can help students connect with one another, develop critical thinking skills, and engage with important issues. The essays in this volume address a rich variety of texts spanning film, television, stand-up, cartoons, and memes as well as conventional literary works from different places and times. Contributors offer theoretical foundations and practical methods for a broad range of courses, including guidance on contextualizing the humor of historical works and on navigating the ways that comedy can both subvert and reinforce stereotypes. Finally, the volume argues for the value of comedy in difficult times, as a way to create community and meaning. This volume contains discussion of fiction, poetry, plays, and essays by Maya Angelou, Jane Austen, Aphra Behn, Hugh Henry Brackenridge, Frances Burney, Charles W. Chesnutt, Roddy Doyle, Maria Edgeworth, Ben Jonson, Anita Loos, Emtithal Mahmoud, Thomas Middleton, Okot p'Bitek, William Shakespeare, Laurence Sterne, Jonathan Swift, Alma Villanueva, Paula Vogel, Oscar Wilde, John Wilmot, and William Wycherley; TV shows and films including Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The Gold Rush, Life Is Beautiful, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Office, Office Space, Rick and Morty, and South Park; works and stand-up performances by Aziz Ansari, Samantha Bee, Dave Chappelle, Louis C.K., Tina Fey, Moms Mabley, Hasan Minhaj, Eddie Murphy, Trevor Noah, Richard Pryor, Issa Rae, and Wanda Sykes; and visual works and other media including Aaron McGruder's The Boondocks, Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes, Nick Sousanis's Unflattening, Marvel's Hawkeye, The Onion, YouTube videos, advertisements, and memes.