I love a good joke, don’t you? The laughter and joy we gain from a good joke is good for us. In fact, I can’t imagine a world without humour. How sad would that be? Lately, I have been noticing something odd from students. More and more frequently, I hear kids saying or doing something that we would consider unkind or disrespectful. Then, immediately afterwards, they will say, “It was just a joke”.
So, it might look something like this;
- An older student approaches a younger student who is playing on a small patch of ice. The older student says, “That is my ice . . . get off!” The younger student starts to cry and then we hear the words, “It was just a joke”.
- A student grabs another student and tackles them to the ground. Later, when an injury occurs, we hear, “I was just having fun. It was joke!”
- A student says to a teacher, you are mean. Later . . . “I was kidding!”
These students are missing something very basic . . . which is that a joke is not funny, if it is unkind or hurtful towards others. “Kidding” is not an excuse for being disrespectful or rude. If you notice your child doing this, I encourage you to discuss it with them. A joke is not a “free pass” to be unkind, impolite or hurtful to others. Let’s continue to help our kids understand genuine compassion, kindness and humour. After all, we all want to continue enjoying a good joke!
Dale Martens – Principal
in: General