Posted August 07, 2013
amok: You need to establish a positive learning environment, not one where the students are afraid to do something in fear of be ridiculed (that is what satire and sarcasm do).
Well, yeah, but I don't think that sarcasm has to be offensive or insulting, I think there's even "friendly" sarcasm (also it doesn't have to be aimed at the students but something the students dislike themselves, helping both sides to bond). And for one, some of my favourite teachers in high school (who were popular and I'd also say successful in general) actually resorted to it a lot. However, those were fellas who generally developed a friendly and kind of personal relationship with the students. One of them (our English teacher) had a kinda "big brother" attitude towards the students, was generally very friendly and casual and would sometimes make sarcastic remarks but with the kind of friendly smile on his face that made it obvious to anyone that there was nothing to be offended about even if the content of his statement could be interpreted that way.
The other one (an art teacher) tried to maintain extreme authority including the illusion that he has perfectly mastered the subject, knows everything about it, is never wrong, and was seemingly condescending - but he successfully used sarcasm to "casualize" the lessons and is in fact the one teacher whom students frequently visit years after graduating (maybe to this day but he may be retired by now). That guy was and always will be a macho and sarcasm was his way of creating a positive environment and it worked and the students loved it. And already during the first few weeks in the fifth grade (the lowest one in German high-school) all students would understand that when he yelled "you get an F!" or when he would point at the door and yell "get out!" he would be joking, most students would be entertained and the few ones who weren't just weren't (but they wouldn't get hurt or afraid). And among all this comedy he'd still manage to be a great teacher and convey a lot of knowledge.
So really, I wouldn't say that sarcasm in itself is harmful to the learning environment, for some teachers (like that art teacher) it may be one of the best ways to create a positive one, actually. Undeniably you have to be clever and careful when using it, though.
amok: and younger children do not even understand it, and it should never be used in any teaching situation for them.
Well, they do not understand it because they haven't learned it yet. I think pedagogues and psychologists are making a huge mistake when they claim that sarcasm just cannot be grasped by children beneath a certain age. I mean, this makes (some) teachers completely avoid the use of it which in turn delays the kids grasping the concept - so you end up with kids who may not get sarcasm until say elementary school and this is taken as evidence for younger kids' disability to understand it - it's a vicious circle. Of course I'm not supporting the idea to insult and harm students psychologically (nor physically :P) but I think that sarcasm is an important element in social interaction and should not be automatically treated as a no-go in teaching. For one - as I said, my GF is occasionally using sarcasm in kindergarten and the kids *do* get it, at least eventually. She's of course using it sparingly and only when the group as a whole behaves atrociously (never aimed at a single student) and as I said, the kids get it (and are even happy and proud whenever they successfully recognize sarcasm - little kids are adorable :3) and I think this may help them cope later on, with teachers in a bad mood or just mean ones altogether (and not only teachers but people in general). And you said it, there's also older students and even adults who may take sarcasm literally but is it necessarily the fault of the one employing the sarcasm or is it maybe sometimes caused by some deficiency on the student's side?
Well yeah, this is certainly the case for the social sciences and humanities but the people I have in mind, the ones with the kind of mind that can just suck up those huge amounts of information, store it there and "get it" are usually drawn to natural sciences, most of the time the formal ones even, where even the application is not necessarily a social act (as far as I can tell the social part of those is rather presenting results or discussing ways to get them, but actually getting them - at least on the the most fundamental level - appears to be an act happening in one individual's mind). I don't deny that social interaction may still help grasping the subject but I think that it's far less important for the natural and formal sciences than the other ones.