The Seriousness of Silliness


Proverbs 17:22

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

In girding myself up for the incoming school year of working with high school students, I have prepped by watching some silly slapstick films. First, Tommy Boy. Second, Happy Chandler. The lead actors in each film, Chris Farley and Adam Sandler, share common comedic chops of typically playing mentally-slow characters with a reliance on physical comedy, malaprops, and dunder-headedness.

Farley's work is particularly painful, despite being quite funny to watch, because of him being the fat boy who does dumb things routine....there is a good deal of sadness sometimes in silliness. Tommy Boy appears to be fairly autobiographical, so that fact/fiction distinction is overlapping.

Silliness, like a bit of wasabi with sushi, goes a long way to win teens. As well as self-deprecation, teasing, and even sarcasm. Yet, it can't be too much. Respect goes down if everything is a laugh-fest. Or it can even get worse and devolve into hurt feelings, recriminations, and insults. The best educators have a sense of knowing when to say when with humor.

Too little silly makes seriousness deadly. Too much silliness ruins respect. Just the right amount of silly, creates an environment where seriousness is tempered with amusement. I would say that a major error I have made in my professional career up to this point of being a school counselor is being too serious. I am changing as I get older to the sillier side.

My goal for the year: Be serious, be silly. Seriously silly....

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