A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Classroom

It had been my intention for many years to become a schoolteacher. It was possibly due to the fact that there were several teachers in my family already! My sister-in-law was a schoolteacher, as was one of my brothers. I also had a cousin who was a teacher. I was thus drawn into the Educational World from a fairly young age.

Whilst scanning through the Times Educational Supplement full of advertisements for teachers, I read a small paragraph on the front page, which was to play a large part in my persona as a teacher. It read, ＂When you are in the classroom, you either crack a joke, or crack up!＂

I had also asked of my teacher brother how he managed with bright pupils in his classes. His advice, which I put into practice on a number of occasions, was that if a student asked a tricky question for which he did not know the answer, he would not admit his lack of knowledge, but would set the question as Homework for the class to research! I have had to put this advice into operation on more than one occasion in order to save face!

The following is an overall view of my teaching experience over 37 years. I taught physics, astrophysics, medical physics, as well as some Chemistry and Biology - for which I had no qualifications! One simply learned on the job. There are some outlines of things which have caused me to look back on with mirth, as well as a number of jokes and stories which I have told my students down the years. As I was in my final year of teaching, and about to retire, I was asked by some of my Sixth Form students what I was thinking of doing during my retirement. I replied that I could write a book containing all the jokes I had ever told in the classroom. This was greeted with cries of, ＂Oh, I would buy a copy of your book, Sir!＂

This therefore was the catalyst which has prompted me to embark on this publication, despite the fact that some 11 years have elapsed since I entertained the idea of compiling such a book.

The following is a record of some amusing experiences, some not so funny ones, and a host of stories and jokes which I have told my students over the years. I hope that you will find them as amusing as most of my students did.

Phillip Robling