and Carl from Up
have in common?
A: They come together in a perfect marriage to create this joke:
One of our classmates posts a Joke of the Day EVERY. DAY. His dedication is supreme. And while he knows that his classmates during his single period enjoy the jokes, I have the benefit of seeing students enjoying the Joke all day. Even students who have class in our classroom--but are not my personal students--make comments about how much they love the Joke of the Day. One of my juniors admitted to logging the jokes in her notebook each day. I absolutely love how one student is affecting others' happiness all day. And what's best about it--I didn't ask him to do it. I had this student last year in Junior Honors English, and he joined me this semester (the last of his senior year) for our Studies in Lit and Film class. At some point last year, he and a friend just started putting jokes up on the board. And they didn't do it for my benefit. They even wrote them when I wasn't present (and they had a substitute). Happily, on Day 1 of our class this semester, he marched right up to the board and picked up where he left off. In truth, I'd like to relegate some other fun tasks and responsibilities to students. I think it would be really fun to have, say, a Birthday Liaison. I celebrate my students' birthdays--but maybe it would be more fun if their classmates did the celebrating? This is something I considered back when I read ReLeah Lent's book Overcoming Textbook Fatigue.
(https://www.amazon.com/Overcoming-Textbook-Fatigue-Revitalize-Teaching/dp/1416614729)
In this book, Lent suggests a variety of ways to let go--and give students control, such as creating teams. She suggests the following types of teams:
Current Events Team
Writing Team
Social Team (they'd be the ones in charge of birthdays, secret pals, Jokes of the Day)
Other Special Teams such as: art, technology, book, logistics.
Overall, this student has not only given me a daily laugh, he has inspired me to attempt to release the reins for a variety of tasks to my students.
