The first synonymous idea of school that comes to mind is a place of strict discipline. All the moral policing at the early stages of the growth of a child is expected to be done within the school premises. Hence, came the term 'schooling' in public discourse, meaning discipline, reproof or reprimand.

The success of educators and students is gauged by the pindrop silence in the classroom. Mentally engaged students, no doubt, show that the class is busy in the learning process. But absence of comic relief can turn teaching and learning into something insipid, boring and uninspiring.

In the mad pursuit of lesson plans, deadlines, exams, attendance and discipline, the first casualty is the loss of smiles within the school perimeter. We must not forget that the distinguished feature of Mr Chipping's teaching in James Hilton's novella, Goodbye, Mr Chips, is his humour. Students at the Brookfield School waited anxiously for Mr Chips' latest joke that would become talk of the town at the school. The students never thought of missing his class.

The........

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