The energizing effects and sheer pleasure one experiences through humor is an aspect of humanity not only to be cherished, but an aspect which can be enriched through further understandings. The written and verbal record of humorous materials presents the possibility of a meaningful and enjoyable unit for the high school classroom. It incorporates in a natural manner the use of vocabulary, readings, analysis of the different criteria for various genre, and opens the possibility of creative writing as its culmination.
Because these factors are integrated into a unit which provides amusement, it carries with it easy motivation for student exploration. These qualities were, in fact, recognized by the National Council of Teachers of English which devoted its 1988 Spring Conference to an exchange of methods and materials which would “Make Time for Laughter,” in English classrooms.
In effect, a unit devoted to humor makes attainable the standard objectives of any unit for a high school English class. Additionally, ethnic humor, by its specialized characteristics, makes it productively relevant to a classroom composed of several ethnic groups, such as is typical in the New Haven school system. The appended
New Haven Neighborhoods Celebrate! 1988 Calendar
fully attests to this situation with its Irish Festival day, Santa Maria Maddalena Feast, Fiesta de Loiza, Greek Festival, etc.
By focusing on ethnic humor in particular, I hope to use the opportunities to enhance a positive self-image for one group, while stimulating understanding of other groups. This objective is invaluable in its potential for the growth of student pride, as well as comprehension of the cultural pluralism which is uniquely American. Furthermore, this aspect is extremely important to the adolescent student who is in the developmental stage during which human beings begin the long articulation toward identity—an identity which ultimately must be self-defined both as an individual and as a member of a group.
The members of the advanced sophomore class to which I intend to teach this unit are, in fact, at that point of articulation. During my years of teaching, students have variously expressed their confusion as to their role—the atheistic student who struggled with her parents’ orthodoxy, the black student who was conflicted by his peers’ characterization of him as an “oreo,” the Irish student who reported he read only secretly so his gang would not think him queer, the Italian student who said he was the only one of his group who would complete high school.
I think the literary record of humorous materials can aid these students work out their roles. To keep the focus, as well as to make the unit manageable, I will bypass definitions of humor, and the mass of materials available analyzing its basis and function in human experience. Rather, I will select materials to meet these objectives:
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-to stress that ethnic humor reflects the concerns and feelings of a particular group;
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-that these concerns are common to all groups, although the expression may be different;
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-to have students sensitive to intensification of stereotyping from partial truths;
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-to have students assess the influence of the immigrant experience on their self-perceptions;
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-to have students familiar with specific authors and literary materials in various genre;
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-to structure the writing process for a specific opportunity to enhance a positive self-image.
The unit’s strategies includes:
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opportunities for students to consider definitions of ethnicity offered by the teacher;
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the reading of material exemplifying the difference between an ethnic writer, and a writer who happens to belong to a particular group;
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knowledge of and evaluation of the significance of the role played by the immigrant experience in group identification;
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a structure whereby the student may reveal understandings through his/her own written work.
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Obviously, there are various ways in which these strategies may be implemented. One may approach the issues historically, tracing a particular ethnic group’s progress from the 1800’s to the present. This might be quite effective for a humanities course. Another approach might be to study a group which tended to be presented in a caricatural fashion (Swedes, for example) as opposed to another which tended to be presented with derision (Italians, for example.)
For the purposes of the advanced sophomore English class for which this particular unit is intended, I intend to raise these questions:
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What is ethnicity?
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What does ethnic humor reveal about the group?
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Where is the humor found?
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How does it relate to the student’s experience?
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In effect, my overall strategy is to raise questions and present materials which will allow students to focus on the issues reflected in the objectives outlined above.
From the start, however, one cannot emphasize sufficiently the durability of the idealized Anglo-Saxon heritage in this country. The some 35,000,000 immigrants who came to the United States between the 1600’s and 1920’s modified the culture slightly with foods, a few words, some heroes—but the English language remained the dominant channel through which assimilation took place and to be “Americanized” meant to speak English, to read in English, to enjoy the various forms of media in English—and to look English.
The students’ perception of this can be fairly easily established. Ask them to describe the All-American Boy and the All-American Girl. Who is taller? What is the color of their hair, eyes? What do they eat for dinner? How many children will they have? Do they attend church on Sunday?
When I have asked students these questions (in a unit relating to the effects of advertising) I occasionally found they responded with a white All-American and a black All-American; but except for color, there was no difference in the perception of the roles, or the language used.
For the purposes of this unit, I might expect them to characterize Chita Rivera as talented but not the All-American girl, and Jackie Mason, Broadway star notwithstanding, as probably not one’s idea of the All-American boy. It is too early in the unit to press students as to why such people do not qualify as All-American, but I think the unanswered implications will serve to initiate their thinking about ethnicity in America.
