[Motivated]

I think finding a balance is the most important thing. I love having a laugh with my students; after all they are teenagers who for the most part are surrounded and hounded by Russian teachers who generally don't have a sense of humour, so a good laugh often makes a welcome change to their norm.

I also believe that a display of a sense of humour when using the English language is a good gauge of a student's abilities. Pun jokes can take some time for a non-native speaker to understand and I get a sense of 'breakthrough' when students get the joke or tell their own.

Of course it's not all beer n skittles; there's much serious work to be done and the kids know I'm still the boss in the classroom. There is a huge difference between being buddy-buddy with students for the sake of popularity and showing them that you are an approachable and likeable person who uses humour to enhance the learning environment.

Some of my 11th grade students who recently graduated told me that they had never had a teacher quite like me, and they would always remember me in years to come. Definitely the greatest compliment a student can give to a teacher.

Happy kids = happy parents - and they are the ones who are paying my wages!