Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom

hooks highlights the importance of humor in the classroom and in academic circles. As a child, hooks felt pressured to remain serious. Both her home and school left little room for humor. In college, she felt the pressure increase as she faced male-dominated academia. Slowly, she learned the power of wit and how it could be used in the classroom and in intellectual discussion. hooks saw the same seriousness of her youth in her students. She wanted them to be able to develop their community, and she knew that humor was a key component. She tried being witty in class, but only a few students laughed. One day, she showed up to class late and found one of her students standing at the front of the room, acting out an impression of her. Instead of becoming angry or indignant, hooks laughed, and her students laughed with her. hooks realized then how humor could help students cope with the intensity of critical thinking in the classroom.

hooks shares another story of the time she invited Ron Scapp to engage in a public dialogue with her at her university. Since she teaches at a Christian college that focuses on social justice, hooks finds it difficult to engage in humor with her students and colleagues.