The cost of a humor-driven classroom? Humor is cheap, and the results are bountiful!

What teachers do in a classroom isn't all that different from the three part jokes discussed above. We teach a fact or skill. We vary it slightly. And then we toss students a curve - if this, and this, what about this?

The same phenomenon produces much of the appeal in sports. A basketball team makes a couple baskets via a much-practiced set play (such as the pick and roll), and then the defensive team stymies the third attempt, which forces the offensive team to improvise. The fans of the successful team laugh and cheer in good humor.

Humor is thus everywhere, and Morrison not only argues successfully that it should be integral to classroom life, but she also provides a very practical guide and helpful resources on how to do it (and her book also provided most of the jokes in this column).

Finally, if you have ten minutes to spare, click here: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/223 for the Rispyni Brothers' humorous take on juggling that frequently uses the three-part pattern discussed above.

But if you think the three-part joke is the only avenue to humor, think again. Humor is as broad as life and as deep as the ocean.

Which reminds me, if you're in deep water, close your mouth.