Students in Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs (DAEPs) have a variety of behavior problems. School counselors in DAEPs have the opportunity to address emotional, academic, social, and behavioral concerns of these students. Counselors may use the strengths-based wellness paradigm as an alternative method of addressing students' holistic…

Traditionally, education has been perceived as a most serious and disciplined undertaking. Schools have become so obsessed with discipline, standardized test scores, proper objectives, competence, and proficiency that they have turned into rather grim places. All too often teachers and students will say that school and learning are not enjoyable.…

The use of humorous texts in the writing class can help students improve skills in effective writing while encouraging critical thinking and an increased range in expression. In addition, because of the accessible nature of humor and the focus on purpose and audience that is necessary when writing it, students show a natural inclination toward…

This study examined the psychosocial correlates and psychometric properties of the Self-Assessed Wisdom Scale (SAWS) (Webster, 2003a). Seventy-three men and 98 women ranging in age from 17-92 years (Mean age = 42.77) completed an expanded, 40-item version of the SAWS, the Loyola Generativity Scale, and the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale.…

This paper traces the interest by academic popular culture scholars in the films of the American slapstick comedy group of the 1930s and 1940s, "The Three Stooges." Noting that between 1990 and 1995 at least 17 scholarly articles have been presented at various popular culture association meetings, the paper touches upon the universal and…

Acknowledging that the fear of public speaking is widespread, this book guides the reader/communicator through 10 steps of writing and presenting a speech. The book is based on the idea that solid preparation and following a few basic rules makes public speaking easier and the finished product more dynamic. The book is divided into the following…

This collection of papers is part of a growing scholarly literature dealing with puppetry and other forms of expressive culture which involve people looking at and reframing themselves and their social lives. The collection is intended to contribute to an understanding of the significance of puppetry as a form of popular culture and an…

Satire is a genre long extant if not especially beloved in human history. Practitioners of the art claim the intent to persuade and educate through their works. Many quantitative studies have tested the persuasive effects of satire. In research on persuasion, A.D. Annis (1939) compared the effects of editorials and editorial cartoons and concluded…

A brief questionnaire was sent to a random selection of 70 librarians in the State University of New York Librarians' Association Directory to determine the frequency of their use of humor at the reference desk and in the library instruction classroom, their perceptions of classroom humor, and their reasons for using humor in these situations.…

Four teachers at Fort Lewis College, Colorado, use humor to send messages which "leap frog" resistance to the new and different, and go directly to the preconscious. The power in these humorous conceptual leaps is that the entering information sticks to the anger and passions of the human psyche, thus fostering retention. Linda Mack, a…

Intuitively, it would seem that moral development and aggressive humor address many of the same issues in that both are concerned with judgments about interpersonal conflict and inequality of exchange. This study examined the relation between level of moral development and appreciation of aggressive humor. Community college students (N=190) were…

Previous research has suggested that behavioral differences between shy and not shy persons may be explained by differences in inhibition rather than differences in interpersonal skills. To investigate the behavior of high and low social anxiety subjects in both ambiguous social situations and in explicitly structured ones, three studies using…

Two speech events, narration and joking conversation, are analyzed from speech samples of Hawaiian 5- to 7-year-olds. An underlying iterative routine was found which allows for both stories and joking to be produced jointly in a contrapuntal style. (Author/RM)

The importance of laughter and humor to enhance education, and special education in particular, is addressed. A sense of humor is an attitude, and humor together with enthusiasm helps students enjoy the learning process. Humor can make students become more alert, and can have very positive influences on affect. A funny remark, a pleasant…

Perhaps because of their familiarity with joke telling, students often do their best writing when using humor. In both telling jokes and creating humorous works, students need to develop a strong sense of audience, an awareness of the importance of vivid description, a strong sense of purpose, and the ability to use punctuation for effect. The…