Laughter has become a teacher’s formidable weapon

From Gorky’s memoirs of Tolstoy we know how much the three of us laughed together Tolstoy, Gorky and Chekhov. When Professor Maxim Kovalevsky came to Chekhov in Nice, they, sitting at a table in a restaurant, laughed so that they attracted the attention of all those present.

What do the examples show? They illustrate the observation that there are people in whom the comedy in life causes a reaction of laughter. The capacity for such a reaction is, on the whole, a phenomenon of a positive order; it is a manifestation of love for life and cheerfulness. But there are people who are not at all disposed to laugh. The reasons for this may be different. If laughter is one of the signs of talent, if gifted and generally normal living people are capable of laughter, then the inability to laugh can sometimes be explained as a consequence of stupidity and callousness. People who are incapable of laughter are in some way inferior. Can Chekhov’s Prishibeyev laugh, or the man in the case Belikov, or Colonel Skalozub? They are funny, we laugh at them, but if you imagine them in life, it is obvious that such people are incapable of laughter.

Apparently, there are some professions that deprive limited people of the ability to laugh. These are especially those professions that clothe a person with a certain amount of power. This includes officials and teachers of the old school. “The portrait of Ugyum-Burcheev is still preserved in the city archive. This is a man of medium height, with a kind of wooden face, obviously never sanctified by a smile, ”this is how Saltykov-Shchedrin portrays one of the mayors in his History of a City. But Moody-Grumbling is not a single character, but a type. “These are simply creatures tightly sealed on all sides,” says Saltykov-Shchedrin about such people.

Unfortunately, such “agelasts” (i.e. people incapable of laughter) are often found in the educational world. This can be fully explained by the difficulty of the profession, the constancy of nervous tension and other troubles, but the reason is not only in this, but in the peculiarities of the mental organization, which is especially clear in the work of a teacher. No wonder Chekhov portrayed his “man in a case” as a teacher. Belinsky in his essay “Pedant” writes: “Yes, I certainly want to make my pedant a teacher of literature. Teachers who are unable to understand and share the good laughter of children, who do not understand jokes, who can never smile and laugh, should be advised to change their profession.

The last statement sounds very ominous. Partly “consoling” is only the fact that the teacher, at least in this context, is finally equated with an official.

A sad example of a complete lack of a sense of humor was once demonstrated by one of our teachers at the graduation party. A jury trial was set up on the school stage. The “defendants” were teachers who were accused of various sins. For example, in the criminal involvement of adolescents in extracurricular activities, in infecting children with a pernicious passion for knowledge, in the “seduction” of minors, expressed in instilling in them a pathological addiction to mathematics … Each teacher, as usual, was given the last word of the defendant, where he could lead necessary arguments in their defense. To the thunderous peals of laughter in the hall, the teachers got out as best they could, but inevitably received an acquittal, and in addition to it, a playful gift, a visible metaphor for their so-called “crime”. A mathematician is a tourist hatchet, so that, like Papa Carlo, with his help, from unhewn logs, quite intelligent boys can be created in a mathematical class. Writer – a toy lyre, so that he could evoke good feelings in the next generations of young philologists. The historian is a toy vacuum cleaner: an invaluable tool for collecting the dust of centuries. Everything was going as well as possible, a cheerful, high spirits reigned in the hall, until one of the teachers categorically refused to go on stage, stating that, like Pavel Vlasov, the hero of Gorky’s novel “Mother”, he recognizes the only court – the court of his parties. It happened in the late seventies, and such a statement was the least like a joke. An eerie silence hung over the hall. This obvious demonstrative gesture perfectly demonstrated the ideological position of this teacher, who disagrees with the transformation of a serious prom procedure into a farce. Well, he was entitled to his point of view, but the flip side of his “principledness” was a record number of conflicts with students and their parents during the school year. Among other reasons for this teacher’s tense relationships with children, not least was his complete lack of a sense of humor. God judge this old man who was soon forced to drop out of school.

Mathematics lesson in high school. He is led by a young aristocratic teacher, reveling in his own erudition, sharp-tongued, one of those who “for the sake of a red word will not spare his father.” It’s so nice to flash wit in the audience. At the blackboard is a pretty girl whose answer, to put it mildly, is far from ideal. Confusing the formulas, she gets to the end of the presentation of the material with great difficulty. The teacher, throwing ironic glances at the audience, says sarcastically: “Well, Ivanova, so be it, I’ll give you a “three”, because mathematics is not your element.” The general laughter of the class is a “reward” for the shown wit, and the girl immediately has tears in her eyes. On the second desk from the right is a guy she cares about. And the teacher, in the language of modern teenagers, “lowered” her in his presence.

Formally, you can’t find fault with this teacher, because the insult was not delivered directly, but in a subtle caustic form. But from this it is even more terrible and sophisticated.

No, whatever you say, laughter is a formidable weapon in the hands of a teacher, and therefore it must be used with extreme caution and only with good intentions.

The teacher looks especially convincing, who, even if he finds himself in an absurd, comical situation (with whom this does not happen!), knows how to get out of the situation with honor. A serious open biology lesson was being prepared, which was to be held in the presence of distinguished guests. The lesson was richly equipped with various stuffed animals. As expected, the formidable members of the certification committee took their places at the end of the class in advance, even at recess. The bell rang, and the excited teacher, entering the classroom, uttered a pre-prepared phrase: “Guys, animals came to visit us today.” The children’s heads immediately turned to the guests. Realizing with horror the context in which this phrase was uttered, designed to immediately include children in the work on the topic of the lesson, she continued, turning to the commission: “Dear kindest guests, of course, I didn’t mean you, but our smaller brothers” . And, smiling, she waved her hands around the cabinet exhibits exhibited at the lesson. Friendly kind laughter was her answer. Everyone laughed together: she, the children and strict inspectors.

A wonderful story happened once with Charlie Chaplin. He was awarded the highest academic order of France – “Academic Palms”, established by Napoleon himself. By the way, Matilda Kshesinskaya received it from our compatriots at one time. So, the great comedian received this order on a lilac ribbon. His friend and admirer from the academic community was indignant: “You were humiliated by presenting an award on a lilac ribbon, while genuine academicians receive this order on a gold one. On a lilac baldric, such an award is given only to teachers. To which the great actor replied with dignity: “On the contrary, I have always believed that my main task is teaching: entertaining, enlightening.”