By highlighting the dreadful and avoiding the droll, nonfiction presents an unbalanced picture of the world and deprives readers of the benefits humor could contribute. Humor is needed in literature because it ventilates or disrupts oppressive conditions, it provides a different lens from which to view reality, and it provides hope, pleasure, and…

Describes stand-up comic Jim Pelley's knack for making educators see a light side to serious problems. Principals should always be aware of the power of humor to take the edge off potentially depressing situations. Advice is provided for lightening up, including creating a humor first-aid kit, posting staff baby pictures and cartoons, and…

Exploding in anger has its charm, though putting sand in the social oil is not simple. Rudeness, like celebrity deaths, comes in threes: daily, demented, and inspired. Administrators should be forewarned: rudeness is effective only when coming from power. Powerless rude people are called nuts; powerful rude people are deemed eccentric. (MLH)

A high-school Spanish teacher recalls her first hectic year. She would have quit, without assistance with everyday classroom realities from an official mentor (a vice principal), a biology teacher, and a second-grade teacher (her mother). These mentors eventually became her best friends. (MLH)

Discusses the ways in which nonhostile, self-accepting, realistic humor may be an important coping strategy for children. Offers practical suggestions for parents, teachers, and other caretakers to encourage the development of humor in children. (FMW)

Humor is a critical ingredient for personal and organizational success, as it stimulates creativity, encourages relaxation, enhances attention levels, builds positive attitudes and team spirit, and establishes interpersonal rapport. A Virginia middle school devised a number of fun-filled activities to enliven faculty meetings, awards…

Two experienced elementary principals leading challenging suburban schools believe principals' greatest responsibility is helping others. To survive, principals should maintain a sense of humor, grow thicker skin, regard parents as potential allies, team with staff and respect their individual talents, hire the best teachers, and act in students'…

Much school humor is more than playful behavior; it is also a form of coping behavior for both students and teachers. Humor aids in the development and formation of the self and in the preservation of dignity and self-esteem, even though it sometimes does so through the humiliation of another. (IS)

Maintains that reading humorous storybooks to toddlers can support their development and learning. A bibliography of humorous children's books is included. (BB)

An experienced college president offers 12 suggestions for coping as president: control calendar; keep passion for work; protect health; manage stress in all life areas; make changes one step at a time; stop when reaching limit; pay attention to support system; learn to live comfortably with ambiguity; separate ego from outcomes; control…