Laughter means exposing yourself, letting your guard drop, accepting that you can't control everything. Yet few realize that this "risk" also holds a kind of magic: the power to reverse a negative spiral, to counter a bad day with a smile, and yes, to shift the mood of an entire group. With teenagers, laughter is the most powerful tool for real communication. This book doesn't offer a naive, rosy view of reality. Rather, it tries to find opportunity even in difficult situations. It won't turn educators and teachers into comedians, but it will give them a solid toolkit and the antenna they need to tune into a group's wavelength and capture the attention that learning requires.
The book offers plenty of activities and games, organized by theme. This makes it easy to find an exercise that fits your specific goal with any particular group.
Laura Nardini, 2007
