History teacher James Johnson believes that comedy is dead, just like the people he teaches about.  

Every day, teachers and students alike are stuck in the classroom for 70 minutes at a time. Teachers are tasked with keeping students attentive and on task for the entirety of this time, which is a difficult task considering that the average attention span for 15-18 year olds is up to 48 minutes, according to a study by the North Carolina A&T University.

 “If they just listen to me talk, they won’t remember anything,” said Johnson, who ranked as the second funniest teacher in the entire school, and number one funniest for the sophomore class, according to a Knight Life poll.

Said poll was conducted with 136 students who were asked to vote for which teacher they found most funny. 

Teachers are eternally struggling to maintain students’ attention. One of the most popular techniques for this is making students laugh. 

History teacher Michael Wright, who was voted the number one funniest teacher by the juniors, as well as the overall winner, also uses humor to keep his students’ attention. 

“The subjects I teach, if you don’t incorporate some humor into them, they will be completely dry and boring, and be completely bereft of humanity,” Wright said. “If you don’t learn to laugh at the world, it will break you.” 

Junior Elliott Anderson, who is in Wright’s AP US Government and Politics class, says that the references Wright makes are what makes his class so entertaining. 

According to a study done by the APA, Using humor in the college classroom: The pros and the cons, the use of humor in a classroom can be linked to increases in motivation and performance, as well as less anxiety. 

Social studies teacher Jay Peterson, ranked as sixth funniest teacher in the school and the number one funniest by the senior class said, “Humor can do a lot to make an environment where people feel comfortable.”
A different idea was from science teacher Valerie Long. Unlike Johnson, Peterson, and Wright, Long isn’t sure if her humor helps her students learn. 

“I do try to diffuse a lot of seriousness with humor,” Long said. “If nothing else, then just to ease the stress.” 

Most students have a natural aversion to school and spend the day just waiting for 2:20. A good teacher makes all the difference: they can make students truly enjoy school and learn far more from their classes.