On Mar 24, 4:58 pm, Dudley Henriques wrote:
news.chi.sbcglobal.net wrote:
While I agree that humor can be a very valuable teaching tool, I find it
works best in one-on-one or small group situations where it can be
tailored to the specific audience.

Unfortunately, in his writings, I find that some of Mr. Machado's humor
falls into the "silly" category, and does not appeal to me at all. This
is not to take anything away from the "meat" of Mr. Machado's writing,
which I usually find quite valuable.

Having learned everything I have needed to provide me with a successful
career as a computer programmer from reading nothing but very dry
documentation, I personally find that written humor is generally a
turn-off for me when I am trying to learn a complicated subject. As Joe
Friday would say, "Just the facts, ma'am."

And now that this is settled, let's move on to that high-wing vs.
low-wing thing, shall we ;-)

"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
.. .
Larry Dighera wrote:
On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:12:47 -0400, Dudley Henriques
wrote:

Rod takes the most complicated of issues and presents them
intelligently and with a splash of humor that is unbelievably
educational.

I find Rod's public appearances entertaining and fun, but the humor he
injects into his training manuals is just unnecessary extraneous
fodder to wade through. But that's just my personal view as a
student.

Interesting.

Rod's books aside, I would counter by telling you that in my 50 odd
years of teaching, lecturing, and dealing with the learning
environment generally, I have found the judicious use of, and
injection of humor in this environment to be an INVALUABLE and in
fact, an INDISPENSABLE tool for ANY teacher.

The most successful teachers I have known in my life have ALL used
humor in their approach to their professions. In fact, I have found
any and all credible sources within the teaching community dealing
with instructing others how to teach stressing the value of humor as a
teaching tool.

I can find no misuse or overload whatsoever with the way Rod uses
humor in his books. In addition, I find his use of humor one of the
most positive aspects of his writing style.

Thank you however, for your opinion.

--
Dudley Henriques

Google search for (humor in teaching) reveals 2,040,000 hits. I didn't
read them all, but I believe all are positive.
Putting "humor in teaching" in quotes, reveals 11,400 hits, same result
I believe.

Thanks for your input.

--
Dudley Henriques

Humor in teaching works when it's situational, responding to a
specific situation. Best done in an actual teaching situation. In
written materials it's tedious. Quite frankly whenever I read
Machado, I get the impression he has a jokes per paragraph quota that
he's gonna fill whether he has material or not.