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March 2009
“Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day
with a great teacher.”
—
Japanese proverb
Avoiding Sarcasm
One of the
fundamental principles of human behavior is that people
ultimately respond better to positive consequences than to
negative consequences. Using negative and coercive methods,
including sarcasm, to manage student behavior might result in
immediate compliance, but that compliance will usually be short
lived. These short-term gains will ultimately be wiped out by
long-term losses in the form of recurring and escalating
inappropriate student behaviors.
It should be the
goal of every teacher to interact in a positive way with
students and foster mutual respect.
Probably nothing
lowers a student’s respect for a teacher more quickly than does
the use of sarcasm. Whether you speak sarcastically about an
individual or the class as a whole, belittling and/or ridiculing
students destroys a positive classroom environment and may
prompt students to lash out with inappropriate comments of their
own.
The use of sarcasm
suggests that you, as the teacher, do not know any better way of
interacting and sets the stage for similar negative interactions
between students themselves.
The following
examples illustrate how the same point can be made both with and
without using sarcasm:
Communicating With Sarcasm
Teacher: "My, my,
my. Aren't you a smart class? It looks like by age 12 you've all
finally learned to find your seat and sit down after the bell.
And to think it only took you half of the morning to do it. I
don't know if there is another class in the entire school as
smart or quick as you guys."
Communicating Without Sarcasm
Teacher: "One of the expectations of this class is to be seated
and ready to go to work when the bell rings. I appreciate those
of you who were quietly seated when the bell rang today."
In both of the previous examples the teacher is telling students
that they are expected to be seated and ready to work when the
bell rings, and that on this day most of them were not. The
difference is that when sarcasm is used the whole class is
belittled and put on the defensive. When the teacher talks
without sarcasm, expectations are taught/re-taught without
pointing fingers and students who did behave appropriately are
reinforced.
Though on the surface sarcasm may seem witty and even humorous,
in reality it is usually cruel and demeaning. Sarcasm has no
place in the classroom. Strive instead for positive interactions
with students.
Reinforce what students are doing "right" whenever possible and
communicate expectations in a straightforward matter-of-fact
manner.
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