Teacher Rates His Year 1 Students’ Jokes On Twitter, And His Thread Goes Viral (Picture)

Just like so many of his colleagues, George Pointon, a Year 1 teacher from the UK, doesn’t know if there’s such a thing as a “normal day” in school in the current climate. But, just like so many of his colleagues, he still tries to make the best out of each lesson. And succeeds.

During a recent English project, Pointon asked his class what makes them laugh. One child said “jokes” and things began escalating really fast, resulting in an impromptu assignment: the teacher asked his students to come up with a joke.

More info: Twitter

Image credits: GeorgePointon_

“Children by their nature are hilarious and giving them a platform to be funny felt like the perfect idea,” Pointon told Bored Panda. “They had no time to prepare. It was an impulsive experience. It was as simple as “Tell me a joke” and they all lept at the chance to do so.”

When everything was said and done, the teacher decided to evaluate his students on Twitter. And to be honest, I don’t know what’s funnier, the jokes or their reviews. Continue scrolling and check them out yourself.

Image credits: GeorgePointon_

George and his students have just got back to school and the teacher said it’s been both tough and exciting. “After spending months on online classes, it’s nice to finally have the band back together,” he explained.

As for the funny task, George obviously didn’t tell them about the idea to analyze it. “That came after. I absolutely adore all the children in my class but I thought ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if…’ and began to write a narrative and look at each ‘character’ with a critical eye. After that, the comedy wrote itself.”

Image credits: GeorgePointon_

His students probably also got more out of the task than just a few good laughs. Experts say that kids with a well-developed sense of humor are happier and more optimistic, have higher self-esteem, and can handle differences (their own and others) well. Furthermore, kids who appreciate and share humor are better liked by their peers and more able to handle the adversities of childhood — from moving to a new town, to teasing, to torment by playground bullies.

Research has shown that people who laugh more are healthier — they’re less likely to be depressed and may even have an increased resistance to illness or physical problems. They also experience less stress and have better digestion.

Image credits: GeorgePointon_

The teacher is really happy about how everything turned out. “I was absolutely gobsmacked by the reaction. I genuinely thought just my friends would see it. Obviously, you can never predict what goes viral. If we could, we’d all be in marketing jobs.”

George is happy people enjoyed the content and the outpouring of joy he has received really brightened his week. Plus, the thread has allowed him to enjoy a new personal highlight: going on national radio.

Image credits: GeorgePointon_

When George asked himself why has this tweet has taken off, he thought that 1) it’s the middle of the week and people need a little ‘pick me up’ time; 2) the world is very dark right now, and people need a little ‘pick me up’ time; 3) it’s children—they are just naturally very funny.

“It was all basically good timing, funny children, and I had a Twitter account. I’m not even funny and granted my dad doesn’t understand why anyone finds the tweet funny.”

“There are two people without who none of this was possible. Don Linney and Kyle Hines,” Pointon added. “They pushed me to write the tweet and to post it… Also, if anyone can get me in touch with Paul McCartney, Declan Rice, or Todd Carty, I’d be unquestionably grateful.”