April Fools? - 27 March 2012

April Fools?


Have you ever been tricked on April Fools’ Day? Apparently, some of the best known April first pranks have taken place in higher education settings.

In 1983, a Boston University professor of history, John Boskin, when interviewed about the origin of April Fools’ Day, fabricated a story that was published by the Associated Press and later withdrawn. He claimed that some court jesters in the days of Constantine had told the emperor they could run the empire better than he did and that, amused, Constantine allowed a jester called Kugel to become king for a day, April 1. When the young AP reporter got the “story” published, Boskin used the incident to teach his students about false reports in the media: how the media can take a joke, innuendo, or story, consider it as authentic, and spread it. Luckily, the credulous reporter’s career was not ruined; he is now an associate professor in the College of Communication (“How a BU Prof April-Fooled the Country”).

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been associated with other well-known April first pranks. Among these was the 1998 hacking of the institutional web site by students who announced the “unprecedented acquisition of a non-profit educational institution by a Fortune 500 company”. They claimed that a huge Disney scholarship fund would reimburse past and future students for the following twenty years; the Engineering School would switch to “Imagineering”; the Sloan School would be renamed the Scrooge McDuck School of Management; there would be a Donald Duck Department of Linguistics, and Disney characters would appear in lectures to keep students alert, facilitating the learning process ("Walt Disney Corporation to Acquire MIT for $ 6.9 Billion").

The University of Cambridge has also had its fair share of April Fools’ Day stories. A posting on a student forum in 2011 announced that, due to government spending cuts, the Vice Chancellor had announced Cambridge would soon become a science only university ("Cambridge to Cease Arts Teaching by the End of the Decade"). While some naive readers were shocked, others realised that could only have been a joke.

Let us all be on the alert this April first, and every day of every year; few are as fortunate as the Boston former AP reporter though many are equally, if not more, gullible.


Posted by May Mikati on 27 March 2012, 12:13 AM

Fooling Around in the Classroom? - 24 March 2012

Fooling Around in the Classroom?


Does humour detract from the quality of teaching and learning? I would say that joking in the classroom is a high risk activity for educators. It depends on the quality – and quantity – of the humour, as well as its timing. Personally, on the rare occasions that I do use humour, I relate jokes to the subject matter I am teaching, and the first joke I tell in any class usually receives a positive reaction from students. Beginning with the second or third witticism (if there is one), students’ reactions vary. Alarm bells seem to start ringing for the paranoid in the audience. Yet while some appear uneasy, others may start imitating the humour in an effort to reciprocate.

Psychologist Ted Powers has written on the usefulness of humour in both teaching and assessment, citing Boughman’s famous statement, “One of the greatest sins in teaching is to be boring”. Powers’ definition of humour is a broad one, including any event that elicits laughter: “It is not limited to jokes or humorous stories but can include props, puns, short stories, anecdotes, riddles, or cartoons. It can be anything that creates a positive feeling in students and makes them smile and laugh.” He refers to studies that have shown the benefits of occasional appropriate humour: increased attention and focus, a more liberal atmosphere, helping with class management, better retention of information, and reduction of anxiety on a test or quiz ("Engaging Students With Humor"). Similarly, Melissa Wanzer’s “Use of Humor in the Classroom” discusses research on the benefits and challenges of using humour.

Retired linguist and humour specialist Don Nilsen advises caution regarding the timing of humour, which could be counterproductive when students are under stress, such as before exams or when major projects are due. Additionally, he warns against the use of sarcasm ("Humor Studies: An Interview with Don Nilsen"). However, he and his wife Alleen are great advocates of humour, having started a conference about it in the 1980s, which was always held on April Fools’ Day weekends. They published a journal and wrote books on the subject, including an encyclopedia of American humour ("Twenty Five Years of Developing a Community of Humor Scholars"). Don Nilsen also gave undergraduate and graduate courses in linguistic humour and language play. He illustrated language devices such as chiasmus (the use of criss-cross structures) through funny examples, as in a bumper sticker that read “Marijuana is not a question of ‘Hi, how are you’ but of ‘How high are you?’”.

The field of humour studies is a well-established one now. Take a look at the International Society for Humor Studies, for example. You’ll see a journal, conferences, seminars and workshops, and resources galore.

Humour, then, may be more serious than you think! Language teachers, especially, should try some language play every now and then to lighten up their material. While this may be a challenging activity, it may be quite rewarding.


Posted by May Mikati on 24 March 2012, 10:14 PM

Bloggers' Block? - 22 March 2012

Bloggers' Block?


For those who enjoy writing, the blogosphere beckons with magnetic force. Yet even experienced writers suffer from occasional writers’ block. They may run out of topics to write about or things to say about their subjects. Apparently, stress is one of the main enemies of creative writing; brain science has shown that the mind tends to “freeze” when an individual feels threatened or is under stress. On the other hand, a relaxed mood promotes creative writing (see Rosanne Bane’s “The Writer’s Brain: What Neurology Tells Us about Teaching Creative Writing”). Other causes of writers’ block include worrying too much about the audience or the appropriacy of the topic.

To spice up their sites, some bloggers write joint blogs or occasional joint articles. Others invite guests to write pieces that they can publish; however, guest blogging has been criticized for drowning the voice of the guest by merging it with that of the host.

Extensive reading of course helps generate ideas for blogs. Similarly, reader feedback may trigger future blog posts. I would therefore like to encourage readers to comment on my postings. I have received scattered responses so far; positive but vague verbal remarks from a few colleagues, a number of “likes” through Facebook, and one anonymous student comment on a post entitled “Reflecting on Student Expectations”. In that comment, the student remarks that while instructor humour can aid learning, disrespectful humour is counterproductive. That reader’s interest in the subject of classroom humour has encouraged me to dedicate a future posting to the subject, so do stay tuned for that.


Posted by May Mikati on 22 March 2012, 11:31 AM

No More Britannica in Print - 18 March 2012

No More Britannica in Print


In January I blogged on the topic of print versus online publications, asking the question “Are Books Out of Fashion?”. Today, a follow-up post is due on the occasion of the oldest English encyclopedia, Britannica, going completely digital. This is a turning point, I believe, not just for the publishing industry, but for humankind at large as other such publishers are likely to follow.

Is it a question of literacy? Is it that people don’t read any more? Of course not. Students read and cite Britannica and other reference works all the time. They use the online version, though, not the hard copy. The death of print does not mean the end of publishing; it is simply a matter of medium. Publishers are realizing that the online versions are easier to maintain and more popular, delivering the databases in better quality. Nor is it a matter of competition from the free encyclopedia, Wikipedia, according to Jorge Cauze, Britannica President ("Encyclopedia Britannica Ends Print, Goes Digital").

Isn’t this kind of move also a triumph for the environment? Are we saving the trees at last? Definitely – and technology has advanced in such a way that the paper we are still using need not be recycled any more. A simpler, faster process for re-using paper has been invented in Cambridge: toner removal, rendering paper ready for re-use in no time. The new approach would not only save trees but also reduce emissions from the pulp and paper recycling industry ("Use a Laser, Save a Tree").

News for educators and environmentalists alike.


Posted by May Mikati on 18 March 2012, 12:40 AM

Language Purists versus Language Change - 11 March 2012

Language Purists versus Language Change


Languages change whether the language prescriptivists like it or not. The purists out there are irritated by the truncation and blending of words, the borrowing from other languages, the use of gender-neutral terms (such as “chair” and “server”) promoted by feminists, etc. This blog would have been a “web log” still if it hadn’t been for the process of language change; and France would have been stuck with “Mademoiselle” for ever (“Au Revoir ‘Mademoiselle’”).

Grammars change with time as well. In English, the levelling of “whom” and “who” is one example; the move from such expressions as “if I were” to “if I was” is another. Those who stick to the old ways may be outed by their language use as illustrated in this popular language joke:

St. Peter (at the Pearly Gates of Heaven): Who is it?

Voice: It is I!

St. Peter: Go to hell, we already have all the English teachers we need!

Language teachers beware!


Posted by May Mikati on 11 March 2012, 4:55 PM

Student Perfectionism: A Two-Edged Sword - 08 March 2012

Student Perfectionism: A Two-Edged Sword


Does perfectionism ail our students at the American University of Beirut?

Besides worrying about their course loads, students are concerned about excelling in their courses. At U.S. style universities, counseling centers play a role in identifying issues affecting student performance. The University of Texas Center for Mental Health and Counseling identifies a number of important student concerns that could apply to any university. Among these is perfectionism. The Center distinguishes perfectionism from a healthy pursuit of excellence. Perfectionism involves setting unrealistic standards, never being satisfied, becoming depressed, constant fear of failure and rejection, over-sensitivity to criticism, and seeing mistakes as disasters rather than as stepping stones to success. A healthy pursuit of excellence, in contrast, involves high but realistic standards, enjoyment of process as well as product, tenacity in the face of challenge, appreciation of constructive criticism, and seeing mistakes as opportunities for learning and improvement. The University of Buffalo Counseling Services site has a web page entitled “Preventing Perfectionism”, where it is pointed out that the condition can be crippling, inviting disappointment due to the unrealistically high expectations set for oneself and others. Similarly, Dr. Anthony Kamaroff of Harvard Medical School refers to the pros and cons of perfectionism in “Perfectionism Is a Two-Edged Sword”, warning that it may be exhausting and counterproductive.

UK and Australian universities have also identified relationships between perfectionism and mental health problems. See “Perfectionism and Mental Health in Australian University Students: Is there a Relationship?”, the University of Leicester Graduate School section on “Managing Problems”, and this leaflet on “Perfectionism” from the University of Dundee. Definitely food for thought for AUB students.


Posted by May Mikati on 08 March 2012, 8:45 PM