Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
In a nutshell, humor is a fundamental and integral core of cognitive and emotional growth. The fertile ground of trust and the elements of nurturing relationships are required for humor to take root. How can parents and teachers nourish the little nuts that are searching for the ground in which their humor can flourish?
Each nut has the capacity for humor development, and studies of early humor development reveal universal patterns of growth. Each child is born with a unique disposition. Although essential questions revolve around the relationship between the environment and the humor developmental process, there are significant factors that support optimal humor maturation.
While it is understood that children are born with an inherent predisposition for temperament, the environment significantly impacts "nuttiness." Let's look at both the nature and nurture of humor maturation.
Are you born with your sense of humor? A glimpse into the research on temperament provides convincing evidence that some humor characteristics emerge from one's biologically based temperament. Innate individual differences usually remain somewhat stable throughout life and impact the response to one's environment.
If you are the parent of more than one child, you will have noticed individual differences among siblings from birth. There are nine temperament characteristics detailed in The Temperament Perspective (Kristal, 2005). Each infant has a different degree of each of the identified characteristics. A few of these are worth noting because they can impact humor style and humor growth.
Intensity is the reactive energy of a response, whether happy, sad, or angry—that is, how expressive a child is. The emotional response varies greatly among young children. For instance, some children will smile a little at peek-a-boo games while others laugh loudly.
Adaptability describes how easily a child adjusts to changes and transitions. A sense of humor is closely related to the capacity for flexibility during change. The ability to laugh in new situations is apparent even with very young children. Some are at ease right away while others may hide behind a parent when in a new situation.
Mood is the basic quality of disposition. It may be more positive (a happy or cheerful child) or more negative (a cranky or serious child). Some researchers think that mood is a parallel characteristic or that it overlays one's basic temperament.
Approach/withdrawal is the child's initial response to novelty: new places, people, situations, or things (Kristal, 2005). It takes a certain degree of risk taking to experiment with humor. "Class clowns," for instance, are pretty comfortable with new places and situations. They approach situations with enthusiasm, zest, and unbridled risk taking.
Moment-to-moment experiences contribute to feelings and are based on the presence or absence of certain chemicals in the brain. As feelings fluctuate, emotions are somewhat restricted to the range and scope of innate temperamental structure.
What influences an individual's humor style? While temperament forms the basis for the energy of a humor style, one can increase one's humor capacity with intentional efforts. Understanding temperament contributes to the ability to maximize the development of a unique humor style and humor strength. Details on humor strength and style are included in Chapter 5 of this book. Think about how your basic temperament has shaped your "nuttiness."
The opposite of play is depression (Brown, 2009). Experiential play is a critical component for learning. Play encourages the discovery skills that generate neural connections while promoting creativity, critical thinking, risk taking, and social bonding. Free play in the classroom is considered to be child directed rather than adult directed. Choice, risk taking, and exploration are the foundation for humor development and form the basis for learning through play. This type of play is also significantly important for adults as well. Brown notes that nothing lights up the brain like play. While many people assume that play is for children, human brains are really designed to play throughout life. The basis of trust is actually given through play signals (Panksepp, Dong, Wayman, & Guerra, 2009).
Today, according to the National Institutes of Mental Health, at any given time there are around 15 million clinically depressed people in the United States. Most are being treated with an ever-increasing array of antidepressants. There is an increasing awareness that depression is more than an insufficiency of chemicals like serotonin. There are also malfunctions in brain circuitry, which are the pathways by which neurons communicate in the brain. Jake Panksepp and his team are investigating this circuitry, along with the genetic and epigenetic factors that regulate these pathways as well as possible circuitry disorders. Panksepp is doing research to see if play experiences early in life can protect against depression later (WSU News, 2009).
Exercise can be as effective as medication for reducing depression. Exercise has also been shown to increase the retention rates of high school students who exercised daily before school (Ratey, 2008). The current research on play, laughter, fun, and exercise is exciting as it indicates promising new ways to treat depression and provide a healthy lifestyle.
There is a dedicated "play" circuitry in the brain equivalent to the circuits of fear and love (Panksepp, 2003). In studies of juvenile rats, it was found that play strengthens the social connections among the young rodents by producing signals that Panksepp believes are similar to human laughter. Playing contributes to young mammals by building a memory base in the brain. In mammals, vocalization sounds emerge from tickling and roughhousing activity.
In humans this vocalization is called laughter. Laughter is a human response to a social connection (Provine, 2000). Neural systems are designed to mirror emotions expressed either verbally or through facial expressions and body language. Play strengthens these social connections.
Physical strength, mental agility, and social skills improve with play. Children laugh often during early childhood. There are references to the number of times that adults laugh as opposed to the frequency of childhood laughter, but claims that children laugh more frequently then adults have not been substantiated (Martin, 2007).
Two studies show supporting evidence for the link between human play and learning. In a fascinating look at the role of play and its effects on primate learning, Lee Alan Dugatkin (2002) suggests that research is pointing to play in childhood as a means of learning to handle unexpected events in adulthood. It is possible to better prepare an individual for everything from disappointment to physical error, from submission to dominance, from reading social cues to knowing social limits. In humans, measures of rough-and-tumble play in childhood correlate with scores on social problem-solving tests. In addition, the neural circuitry of play suggests a possible link between play and learning. Although this theory has been explored and supported many times before, recent research has been on the study of the frontal lobes.
There are indications that play increases the versatility of choices, either in decisions, emotional reaction, or physical movement. Play may create a repertoire of sensorimotor experiences that can be used as measuring sticks for effective response choice in the future.
By renaming play as exploratory time, Steven Wolk (2001) emphasizes the importance of self-discovery and of having the student in control of his or her own learning. Wolk asserts that during exploratory time children build the cognitive skills needed to accelerate learning.
I want to live forever. So far, so good.
The belief that play has no place in the serious business of work has been woven into the fabric of many organizational systems. This belief has been reinforced by the intense focus on productivity, accountability, and mandates. The very word play is repulsive to some people who think of it as the antithesis of "hard work."
Educators compel young children to "do worksheets" rather than allow cognitive growth through the natural exploration that play provides. Ask a young child their favorite subject, and "recess" becomes the increasingly frequent answer as children progress through school. Learning is perceived as "work." Recess is often the only time that children have free choice. Play is a critical component for humor development, yet the opportunities for play in educational systems are near extinction for both children and adults. (See Figure 2.1.)
Play is usually considered to be suitable only for very young children. Using the word play in connection with adult meetings often triggers an intense negative reaction. There are those who express a disdain for the use of any activities perceived as "okay" for elementary and early childhood educators but certainly not appropriate in the "higher" cognitive processes necessary after fifth or sixth grade. Conventional wisdom dictates a general belief that learners need to buckle down, work harder, play less, and quit clowning around as they grow.
As children advance through school, auditory methodology increases so that by high school many classes are in a lecture format with few games and activities. Therefore high school and middle school teachers have immense obstacles to overcome in providing opportunities for play. These obstacles need to be addressed by increasing the awareness that humor facilitates learning, play encourages memory retention, and laughter relieves the stress that inhibits cognitive processing. Research on these factors will be explored further in Chapter 3.
Henry Ford had the philosophy that work and play did not mix. Employees were seen as insubordinate and even could be fired if they were humming, whistling, or smiling. Ford thought that work and play was a toxic combination. Today, there are an increasing number of organizations that espouse play as contributing to productivity and peak performance. Several companies are hiring consultants from Serious Play, which is a technique that uses Lego blocks to train executives (Pink, 2006). Think tanks, meditation rooms, team building activities, and actual opportunities to use toys have found their way into boardrooms and businesses. Companies have found increased productivity with increased opportunities for fun (Yerkes, 2001). See Appendix 8, "Take It and Make It Funny."
You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.
Play is an important component in adult learning. Many organizations have incorporated play into their staff development and work culture. Play encourages creativity, productivity, and enthusiasm. Stress can vanish with the opportunity to play, laugh, and have fun. A sense of play nurtures a sense of humor.
Bring purposeful play into your staff meetings. Do you hate meetings? If so, you are like the majority of people in the world. Meetings can be productive and fun. Check out the Education Learning Network in the resources section for website access to my webinar titled Staff Meetings with Pizzazz!
The motivation to play and laugh is innate to the human species (McGhee, 2002b). Young children play and laugh even without efforts to nurture these behaviors. Widespread differences in the development of humor skills can be seen as children grow older. Increased opportunities for humor development will foster key intellectual, social, and emotional life skills.
Integrating play into your practice is a purposeful, challenging, and splendid responsibility. It also brings great satisfaction. Don't be afraid of being silly or looking ridiculous. Have courage! Live on the wild side with the purposeful inclusion of humor and fun in your personal and professional life.
As a child develops, the chemical composition of the brain combines with positive environmental factors to cultivate a sense of trust. A feeling of control over one's environment (by providing choices) gives hope to individuals in their inherent determination to reach developmental goals. Trust and hope provide a basic foundation for developing a sense of humor. Note there is a pattern of development that can be recognized, nurtured, and cultivated. Researchers D. H. Fuhr, Paul McGhee, E. A. Schwartz, and Avner Ziv have explored the idea of developmental stages of humor. As with any maturational sequence, characteristics of these stages are flexible, and there will be variances as to when the growth of the emerging nut occurs. (See Figure 2.2.)
The new word for the day is the term neoteny, which means the retention of immature characteristics into adulthood.
These stages of emotional progression are observed most often through play and are the essential foundation for the development of a sense of humor. Hope, trust, positive emotionality, and optimism are integral to the maturation process. Each of these stages is identified by a prevalent game or activity that is reflective of the particular stage.
Parents work very hard to elicit that first smile from their newborn. When Rachael and her husband, Jason, had their first daughter, Katie, they were typical of parents around the world. From the moment she was born they cooed, smiled, and talked to her. When she smiled, they responded with great enthusiasm. They were ecstatic about capturing her first outburst of laughter on video as a response to Jason acting silly with a toy elephant. Rachael and Jason have made sure that Katie's humor journey is beginning.
Babies carefully observe their caregivers and intently respond to smiles with mirroring smiles and mimicking laughter. The process of reading the faces of others initiates social development and provides a basis for bonding between caregivers and the child. Around five or six months, babies recognize parents and caregivers and will frown or cry when strangers approach.
There is fascinating research on the impact of mirror neurons on the ability to socialize and learn. At all stages the brain mirrors the expressions and actions of various relationship interactions. The universal practice of parents actively eliciting smiles and laughter is a great example of mirror neurons at work (or at play!).
When Isaiah was born, his siblings and cousins smothered him with kisses, hugs, and laughter. At four weeks he was smiling and responding to their repeated attempts to get him to smile. If you use these same smiling techniques in your everyday life, smiling at strangers and laughing with your family, you will discover these mirror neurons at work. Of course the opposite is true. Negativity and frowns also stimulate the mirror neurons. Purposeful use of smiling and laughter can stimulate the positive energy that is possible through mirror neuron activation.
The game of peek-a-boo assures the child that what disappears will reappear. This game helps children understand that their caregiver will return. The initial fear of loss is replaced with surprised relief, which eventually results in laughter. Adults delight in this laughter, and the game is frequently repeated. At age ten months, Cloe found great delight in pulling the diaper off of her mother's face in a reverse game of peek-a-boo.
Adults engage infants in numerous games that provide the basic skills for the "reading" of emotions. Silly noises, hiding objects, repetition of nonsense sounds, and roughhousing all elicit laughter while forming the trusted relationships necessary for humor development. These playful games also contribute to the foundation of a strong attachment between parent and child.
Around the age of one year, incongruent behavior on the part of a caregiver (such as pretending to eat the child's cracker) will evoke laughter (Ziv, 1984). Repetition of silly behaviors will amuse children of this age, while rhythm and rhyme engage their sensory abilities.
When the twins Benjamin and Tyler were twenty-two months old, one of their favorite songs was "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." While singing with them in the car, their grandmother changed the word star to their names and then a variety of other names. They kept saying, "No Grandma, star!" When she finally sang it the right way, Ben said "No Grandma—Tyler!" followed by laughter. He obviously was able to understand and replicate the surprise change pattern or "joke."
Chasing games and physical contact play are important aspects of this stage. At eighteen months, cousins Andrew and Samuel were laughing and coming back for more when their caregiver would say: "I'm going to get you!" followed by a chase around the dining room table.
The peek-a-boo stage builds the relational foundation of trust and hope necessary for emotional intelligence and for building infant attachment to a primary caregiver. It also supports the ability of the toddler to understand disruption in normal patterns of human behavior so he or she can transition to the knock-knock phase.
At age two-and-a-half Samuel declared that his father was sure silly when he sang and exaggerated the movements to several songs. Pretend behaviors, exaggeration of reality, and imagination emerge in this stage of humor development. Two-year-old Cloe loves to run up the stairs with a "tiger" big sister roaring after her. In this stage emerges the capacity of children to appreciate fantasy creatures and to employ their own imagination to create silly stories and drawings. Dramatic play begins with children imitating adult behavior. They use their imagination to pretend, often laughing at their own ingenuity.
After making cookies, twenty-three-month-old Andrew was helping to wipe up the crumbs on the floor. He wiped the top of his mother's feet and looked up with a smile. When his silly behavior was acknowledged by his mother's laughing, he also laughed heartily, obviously happy that she "got his joke." He repeated this silly pattern several times, always looking to be sure that she appreciated his humor.
Bathroom humor emerges at this stage and reflects the concerns that children have with their own bodily functions. Taboo words and laughter about body parts are common in early childhood. Jokes about elimination and sexual ideas are often accompanied with giggles. Numerous creative books have been written on these topics.
When a busy mom was at the sink helping Mimi brush her teeth, her three-year-old brother Steve was in the tub playing with the tub toys. He asked his mom if she had "heard that." He wanted to be sure to let her know that he had created loud "bubbles" in the tub. He thought his production of gas in the water was hilarious.
Know why Miss Tomato turned red? Because she saw Mr. Green Pea!
It is intriguing to note the use of humor in children's literature. Word play and repetition are important in the knock-knock stage of humor development. Three- to five-year-olds begin to find humor in things that appear incongruent, such as an elephant washing a car. Dr. Seuss has become a timeless example of the combination of rhythm, rhyme, ridiculous characters, and imaginative storylines that appeal to children of all ages. Media exposure has made Big Bird and Cookie Monster, as well as Barney and Elmo, common household names. Many movies today have a parallel humor track appealing to the different cognition levels of both children and adults. Finding Nemo, Shrek, and Antz delight audiences of all ages.
Emerging social relationships start to mirror group laughter and humor. Group glee is a wave of laughter that emerges from a group of playing children. Christine, Mimi, and Katie are five-year-old cousins. One day they jumped on the bed together laughing and singing, "No more monkeys jumping on the bed! One fell off and cracked her head! Grandma called the doctor and the doctor said, 'No more monkeys jumping on the bed!'" Their laughing became uproarious, and they fell down hugging each other in uncontrollable giggles. This type of bonding led one of them to proclaim that they are not cousins but triplets.
One reason early childhood educators enjoy teaching young children is that they find humor in most situations, and they easily share the laughter. Children take pleasure in trying to fool adults with "knock-knock jokes" and silly riddles. Parents who take the time to nurture this stage are encouraging the capacity for the future divergent thinking required for innovative problem solving and creativity. Encouraging the use of nonsense words, word plays, and rhyme supports the acquisition of the foundational tools necessary for humor skills.
Knock-knock jokes are actually a fairly advanced skill since there are five steps in the process:
Knock-knock.
Who's there?
Dewey
Dewey who?
Dewey like knock-knock jokes?
This format is a good basis for children beginning to understand that words can have two meanings. Unfortunately for parents and teachers of children at this stage, these jokes can get pretty tedious. When Emma was learning this format, her parents encouraged her sense of humor by laughing at some of her knock-knock "jokes" that really did not make sense. She had heard her older brothers get huge laughs from their knock-knock jokes, and she wanted to learn how to make others laugh using this format.
Parents and educators have a significant role in modeling humor and providing strategies to build relationships. "Children with the ability to use humor skills in social interactions were found to be chosen for social activities more often than children with less developed skills" (McGhee, 2002b).
The comprehension of verbal irony seems to emerge between five and six years of age. Jokes, riddles, and clowns begin to be appreciated by children. Practicing jokes and repeating riddles are valuable components in this stage of humor development. Teachers can generate excitement for reading through joke and riddle books, especially for those students who might not be too enthusiastic about other kinds of literature. Since children are drawn to these books, many educators use them to promote vocabulary development, encourage creativity, and improve reading skills.
Andrew, at eight years of age, asked what ducks like to eat. Of course he was enthusiastic to tell me the answer: "Quackers." Comic books, funny stories, and cartoons embedded in the curriculum contribute to the fun of learning. A great resource for children on how to create riddles is Stumble Bees and Pelephones (McGhee, 2002a). McGhee says that humor is really a form of intellectual play. Playing with ideas forms the foundation of creative thinking.
My dog can lick anyone.
Children at this stage are moving toward increased understanding of the subtle differences in language, and their more fully developed language skills accelerate their humor appreciation. Word play, language variations, and the magic of language become a magnet that will captivate children during grades 4 through 8. This is the period where the students will be able to detect and enjoy a language twist at the end of a story. They will also be able to understand a subtle variance in word selection and therefore "get the joke." Puns and satire are beginning to be understood by students, and there are initial attempts to invent their own pun fun.
The ability to discern the variances in language is essential for humor development. Ziv, in his book Personality and a Sense of Humor (1984), wrote that in order to enjoy humor a person must understand the nuances of language. Understanding the nature of humor development can be invaluable for both teachers of special education and for teachers of talented students. Special education teachers find that using jokes and riddles can assist in the language and reading skill development of their students. And since a sense of humor is an indicator of language comprehension, it is often one of the characteristics for identifying linguistically talented students.
The pun-fun stage also requires the capacity to perceive differences between feelings of joy, surprise, silliness, happiness, and sarcasm, all necessary elements for humor development. The emotional growth of the child is an important factor in appreciating and learning to use humor at this stage. This can have negative as well as positive results. Since slapstick humor and laughing at the mistakes of others are commonly experienced within the social structure of these grades, teachers need to be prepared to share positive humor techniques with their students. It's important for students to have positive role models for humor practice.
The middle school years initiate the emergence of puberty with jokes about sex and aggressive behavior. Adolescents experience anxiety about the changes they are experiencing physically, and this sexual humor can provide relief from the stress of puberty. As with the bathroom humor of earlier ages, physical changes evoke challenges for preteens, who resort to laughing with others as a coping device. Note that some folks never outgrow the bathroom and sexual humor stages.
Puns emerge from the clever massaging of language, usually evoking groans from listeners. These groans act as fertilizer for the pun nuts, as it definitely encourages them to expand their punning. Groups of punsters can be dangerous. They build on each other and delight in how far they can string out a punny. Many students love using puns related to the lesson. Ask them to think of puns on the topic of the day. A lesson on the importance of calcium and the consumption of milk can lead to puns on the good mood that milk provides and how it is udderly delicious. Whether it is creating puns, practicing the rhymes of Dr. Seuss, or doing a comparative analysis of Shakespeare's tragedies and comedies, there is a tremendous opportunity to nurture humor at this stage.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like bananas. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering. I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me. There was a person who sent ten puns to friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did.
A word about class clowns—these are the entertainers trying to get the entire class or office to laugh. There is no doubt about the havoc that class clowns can bring to a classroom and to the workplace. Even though the ability to create group laughter is a valued life skill, these attempts are usually negated and even punished by the initial attempts of these risk-taking youngsters in schools. These folks can shine if encouraged to use their humor to strengthen social bonds. Numerous comedians admit to starting their careers in school as class clowns. Fortunately they had teachers who provided the solid ground necessary for these nuts to succeed in the world of comedy. Channeling the energy and creativity of those who seek attention through laughter can be a challenge for administrators.
A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you are in deep water.
We have mentioned the ultimate or peak experience as identified by Maslow and described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi as a flow or a spiritual experience (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997). Humergy is extraordinary optimism and a passionate energy for life combined with a gentle understanding of others. It describes the energy that radiates the optimistic joy of the inner spirit, reflecting a unique personality, and nourishing a healthy mind–body balance (Morrison, 2008). Joy-flow is the degree to which humans have accomplished optimal growth and self-discovery. This peak experience exemplifies the capacity to view challenges with optimistic amusement. A heightened state of positive emotionality defines the fun-finder's peak experience. For many, joy-flow is a spiritual journey.
Becoming aware of one's sense of humor provides an opportunity to expand humor energy through humor practice. This experience of flow and energy will create a natural euphoric high. Do take this opportunity to review the humor strength reflections (Appendix 5). Take the time to reflect on what types of humor produce a joy-flow in you.
Once there is an understanding of the emotional self, it transcends to an understanding of others. Humergy encourages listening and honoring feelings, both of self and of others. It is an understanding that anger often mirrors feelings of fear. The experience of humergy in groups encourages trusting relationships, providing mutual support for facing life challenges.
Joy-flow also is evident within groups. Visualize a classroom of laughing students filled with excitement, where each school day offers opportunities for brain-compatible learning facilitated by passionately optimistic teachers. Picture an office with laughing employees energized by the prospect of providing a fun-filled sales promotion or by bringing laughter to their clients.
Humergy is the energy that radiates the humorous optimism of the inner spirit. It is the positive emotionality that creates a healthy mind–body balance. It is observed in all who are passionate about living in joy, in those who are ecstatic about life opportunities that support positive emotionality, and where fun is an integral part of living. This joy-flow state and the possible connections to human growth provide significant opportunities for further study.
"Spam!" was my first reaction when I received the email inviting me to speak at a Humor Conference in Izmir, Turkey. It is a miracle that I did not delete that email. It was indeed an invitation to present at a Humor in Education conference in Izmir, Turkey, from Handan Oktar, who is an amazing educator and principal of a pre-K–12 school. This conference was for over 250 educators from all over Turkey and was held at Isikkent Egitim Kampusu in March 2010. Handan and I Skyped and collaborated on the aspects of culture that might be a challenge for my presentation.
In preparing, I learned about Turkish folklore and traditions. My preparation included consulting with various colleagues who had visited Turkey and reading numerous articles about humor in Turkey. I have to admit that I was a bit anxious about the language translation and likely cultural differences. My PowerPoint slides were translated into Turkish, and there were two interpreters who did a live translation during the presentation. My worries were initially confirmed when the first story told did not get much of a reaction. Relief followed in thirty seconds when the audience began to laugh and I realized that the translation process created a delayed laughter response.
Handan taught me so much about humor through her desire to incorporate fun and laughter into the educational process in Turkey. Her leadership led to the incorporation of humor into the lives of over 5,000 students in Turkey. Handan recently sent me a joke that made me laugh out loud.
Dear Santa:
My wish this year is for a big fat bank account and a thin body. Please, do not mix the two like you did last year!
Humor is universal. Regional differences make for quite a few jokes in the United States. I currently teach an AATH Humor Academy graduate-level class that has had students from Australia, Venezuela, Canada, Brazil, and the United States. There are more similarities than differences. If you are working with people from other countries, you might chat about historical and cultural humor. A colleague from China shared that humor is not encouraged in parts of his country; in fact it is discouraged. This information is helpful in encouraging humorous interactions in an increasingly interconnected world.
Even regional differences make for quite a few jokes in the United States:
Woven through these developmental stages are several elements that have a profound impact on the development of humor beings. These cut across the temperament and developmental aspects of humor and are the emotional components of trust, hope, optimism, and loving relationships. In efforts to learn about humor it is helpful to review in depth the emerging research about the significant impact emotions have on learning presented in Chapter 3. However there is a need to mention a few of the emotional indicators that are lifelong partners of humor development and practice.
Finding and nourishing the nut within you is a lifelong adventure. The energy that comes from humor supports the ability to be optimistic, to have trust and hope, and to experience loving relationships.
Even Rednecks have a sense of humor!
A redneck was stopped by a game warden in Central Mississippi recently with two ice chests full of fish. He was leaving a cove well known for its fishing. The game warden asked the man, "Do you have a license to catch those fish?" "Naw, sir," replied the redneck. "I ain't got none of them there licenses. You must understand, these here are my pet fish."
"Pet fish?"
"Yeah. Every night, I take these here fish down to the lake and let 'em swim 'round for awhile. Then, when I whistle, they jump right back into these here ice chests and I take 'em home."
"That's a bunch of hooey! Fish can't do that."
The redneck looked at the warden for a moment and then said, "It's the truth, Mr. Government Man. I'll show ya. It really works."
"O.K.," said the warden. "I've got to see this!"
The redneck poured the fish into the lake and stood and waited. After several minutes, the warden says, "Well?"
"Well, what?" says the redneck.
The warden says, "When are you going to call them back?"
"Call who back?"
"The fish!" replied the warden.
"What fish?" replied the redneck.
Moral of the story: we may not be as smart as some city slickers, but we ain't as dumb as some government employees.
This chapter examines the impact of temperament on development and the power of play in brain growth. Humans are born with a temperament that impacts humor development and an environment nurtures the growth of a sense of humor. There are five defined stages of humor development:
Each stage has opportunities for enhancing learning, and it is important for educators to have an awareness of the developmental characteristics of each stage. Each infant's brain contains a unique blueprint for humor maturation. Recognition of universal patterns of humor development provides the foundation for cultivating individual growth through specific jokes and humorous techniques for that particular phase.
Play is an integral part of brain growth and of humor development. Play provides powerful practice opportunities for cognitive development. There is some research to indicate that play in childhood inhibits depression as an adult. Unfortunately, in this age of accountability, play is seen as a nonproductive activity. Playfulness is deemed acceptable only in controlled situations and with certain rituals that permit the expression of silliness, fun, and wild laughter. Play necessitates a level of risk taking rarely tolerated as acceptable behavior in most groups. Yet many organizations are recognizing the importance of play in generating creativity, productivity, and employee well-being. A sign of a healthy work environment is that it is filled with fun and laughter. Playfulness produces signals of trust.
Humor is an indicator of a high level of trust within a culture. Diversity will lead to unique historical and cultural perspectives on humor. Humor is reflected in the universal positive elements of trust, hope, optimism, and love.
