An anonymous school board member offers tongue-in-cheek advice to prospective school board members--starting out with the fact that, no matter how impressive board members' resumes are, their backgrounds will not fully prepare them to serve on school boards. (MLF)

A former substitute teacher explains how she won first-graders' attention and significantly improved deportment by pretending to be a Martian with different communication modes and hearing capabilities than terrestrials. Children painlessly learn tips on listening, communicating, and engaging in friendly behaviors. (MLH)

This study describes the development of a self-report measure of functional humor in relationships. People were asked to report on their own and their partner's use of humor in the marriage. The Relational Humor Inventory proved to be a useful instrument for tapping important positive and negative relationship behaviors. (Contains 30 references, 4…

Responds to an article that argues that in the study of bilingualism, conceptual representations should be treated as related but not equivalent to word meanings, as knowledge-based, dynamic and language- and culture-specific. (Author/VWL)

Freshmen in an orientation course at a state university answered questionnaires about their peer mentors' playful communication and about how well their peer mentors help them ease tensions of socialization. Results showed that a mentor's perceived playful communication helped the protege ease tensions of socialization. Proteges liked mentors who…

This research provides further data regarding non-literal language comprehension following right hemisphere damage (RHD). To assess the impact of RHD on the processing of non-literal language, ten participants presenting with RHD and ten matched healthy control participants were administered tasks tapping humour appreciation and pragmatic…

The authors' previous work with long-term family caregivers demonstrated the importance of conversational cues, the reliance on humor to convey sensitive information, and the ways in which the interviewer can follow up, with appropriate probes and nonverbal encouragement, to gain necessary insight into the caregiver situation. This article offers…

Parody is a form of imitation with the added elements of comedic twists, turns, and exaggerations. To create a parody of something, one has to understand it before beginning to alter it for humorous effect. Parodies are used by teachers of writing, music, and art as a method of educating and evaluating students' understanding of the styles of the…

The use of humor in teaching has been linked to learning in several studies, although the research has been equivocal. The various types of humor used by teachers have also been investigated but not in terms of what students view as appropriate and inappropriate uses of humor. Participants in this study were asked to generate examples of…

There are a number of characteristics of gifted children reported by teachers and researchers. Such characteristics may include curiosity, advanced mathematical skills, large vocabulary, acute sense of humour. This paper examines the demands that humour, as a creative activity, makes on cognitive and social development. It is derived from research…

Resiliency is not a fixed attribute. Rather it is a set of protective mechanisms that modify a person's response to risk situations. This article focuses on the child's resiliency development. The author identifies and describes four factors of resiliency development through heightened sensory awareness; high, positive expectations; a clear…

This booklet offers a humorous perspective on important guidelines for developing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for students with disabilities which respect the values of collaboration, student and family leadership, and full inclusion. Humorous section titles and cartoons illustrate important principles: "Developing an IEP Shouldn't Be…

One segment of a computerized adventure game system (Multi-User Dimensions, or MUD) designed for learners of English as a second language (ESL) is described. The acronym MOO refers to MUD Object Oriented, the programming language used for the system. The system allows for individuals in different locations to communicate directly with each other,…

Three professors at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, reflected about a course they taught together on the use of metaphor in language, art and literature. In examining a wide range of art works with their students, including prose by E. A. Poe, Nancy Mairs, Henry James, and Woody Allen and movies such as "Dr.…

Getting students to read can often be a very exasperating, frustrating experience for classroom teachers, parents, and reading specialists alike. However, the use of jokes, cartoons, funny stories, comedy records, and joke books can be used to instill a love of reading. Humor can also be used to improve interpersonal skills, and reading and…