Referring to some of the greatest stand-up comedians in the form of such personalities as Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, and Robin Williams, no one would ever think of seeing a simple schoolteacher take the stage and try a hand at lashing out the swiftest jokes for a laugh. And even better, these schoolteachers aren’t just getting laughs; they’re doing it for the sake of education!
No joke (and that is NO pun here, either), but there’s a program straight out of London entitled the “Bright Club”, formulated by the University College London. What you have are teachers taking their fields of study out into the public at bars, nightclubs and other venues for the sake of information stimulation laced with laughs. Essentially taking the classroom out of the ‘classroom’ and sticking it in a club filled with students (hopefully mostly!).
Three professors named Kathryn Waddington, a former nurse, Ian Roberts who studies topical medicine in the university, and Katherine Woolf who researches in the medical school are just three who regularly participate in the program. What benefits these teachers willing to put themselves out there is exactly that: they PUT THEMSELVES OUT THERE. Realistically, teachers really can’t “let themselves go” in a classroom. In Stand-up, they, however, can.
Moreover, typically, the idea of listening and laughing at jokes does promote learning. Interaction is a tremendous thing. The ability to reach others through laughter, in many cases, is the best medicine. And for those suffering from “learning deprivation” can be released of the symptoms through the wonderful program of STAND-UP. And the jokes work, too. Demonstrating how neutral, inanimate objects can be contaminated by association with their owners with the line “Would you wear Hitler’s jumper?” can bring the house down, you know? And that’s simply discussing brain chemistry and neuropsychology.
When you get down to it, pretty funny stuff!