School is an essential part of personality and identity development for children. A lot of our behaviors are influenced by our peers and the people we choose to surround ourselves with. When watching a movie about the high school experience, characters often fall into certain stereotypes that might seem cliche. From the popular kids and jocks to the geeks and band kids, we often fall into groups with people we are similar to, especially in grade school. The class clown stereotype, however, needs to be dismantled. These stereotypes don’t just exist on the screen or in high school: they extend into one’s college years.
But college classrooms are not the place for class clown behavior. You’re in college, and you’re a legal adult at this point. You’re probably living on your own for the first time and experiencing more freedom. Colleges are institutions meant to prepare students for their professional careers by teaching them the skills and information necessary to advance. College is much more serious than high school, and there is more pressure to succeed and learn information, especially if your classes provide information necessary for your career.
From the moment you are born, you begin to exhibit a fundamental form of personality known as temperament. Temperament consists of innate features like mood, demeanor and emotional responsiveness. Over time, your personality develops based on your surroundings and learned behaviors. Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung created the 12 Jungian Archetypes, intended to represent the range of basic human motivations. One of these archetypes is the Jester, whose greatest fear is to be bored or bore others. Their cardinal orientation is to connect with others by bringing joy and having a great time.
Some people naturally exhibit this archetype, and they are rewarded for their behavior when people find them funny. This stereotype is more likely to be assigned to boys, and it can have lasting impacts on their education and behavior. The class clown stereotype can come with negative perceptions that influence how teachers and peers view students. In a study conducted by Lynn A. Barnett, associate professor at the University of Illinois, boys and girls in the first grade were equally likely to be considered class clowns, but afterward the label applied to more boys than girls. In first grade, these playful students were the most popular, with their superior social skills. However, by third grade, these children became the least popular because their teachers and peers considered them disruptive.
The study also found that teachers became increasingly frustrated with playful boys and viewed their behavior negatively because they disrupted the classroom. This made teachers treat the class clowns differently, leading them to feel alienated from their peers and act out more often. By labeling a child as deviant, they are immediately more likely to behave deviantly.
Children might be inclined to fit into the class clown stereotype because they have unfulfilled wants, desire attention or have a hard time controlling their impulses. There is a correlation between class clown behavior and children who have ADHD, as they attempt to draw attention away from things they are struggling with. There are several disruptive behavior disorders that might explain why a child is acting up, but because they are perceived within the confines of the “class clown” stereotype, they are ignored. As this behavior goes untreated and students are further alienated, they are less inclined to abandon the behavior. This label, assigned as early as elementary school, can last a lifetime.
If teachers notice their students exhibiting this disruptive behavior, they need to recognize that there might be outside factors influencing this. It is important to keep class clown students in the classroom and attempt to restore their behavior, not punish them. Kicking children out of class can set them behind educationally, and lead to them acting out to a greater extent.
At a certain point in life, behaving foolishly to get attention and make people laugh is not appropriate in several settings. However, certain social groups expect this behavior in order to gain membership. The fraternity rush process happens in both the fall and winter semester at the University of Michigan, so pledge activities are expected year-round. I can enjoy wholesome and funny #pledgetok content, TikToks consisting of fraternity pledges doing random things, as long as this behavior stays outside of the classroom.
We should not be reinforcing disruptive behavior inside the classroom because it is unfair to interrupt learning for students who might have much more at stake in their education. People’s grades can heavily influence their acceptance into graduate schools or odds of getting a job. The person who interrupted my lecture to inform the professor of the weather forecast for the week, and the guy who comes in late to lecture regularly but insists on asking our professor how she is doing today as she tries to teach, add nothing to my education. We pay thousands of dollars to attend class, not amateur comedy shows.
The University commits to creating an environment to encourage and nurture the free flow of ideas. If you encounter disruptive behavior in the classroom, there are several resources available that you can contact. Disruptive behavior can be a sign of a deeper issue, and I encourage students to use the resources for stress and mental health the University provides. This creates a better environment for everyone, and promotes personal well-being.
Lara Tinawi is an Opinion Columnist writing about campus culture and her everyday musings. She can be reached at ltinawi@umich.edu.