ABSTRACT
Competition with entertaining programs, virtually forced television educators into dedicating a good portion of their programs to humor. Educational programs for children, such as 'Sesame Street' and 'The Electric Company', seem to have become success stories only because they liberally embraced humor and similar elements of entertainment. People tune in and out of programs at the touch of a button; and as they are mainly motivated by their desire to be well entertained, they sit ready to pass over or to abandon any program that fails to project sufficient 'entertainment value'. Incorporation of humor that is related to educational information and that challenges or distorts it, as in irony or humorous exaggeration, tends to confuse and can have detrimental effects. There was a time when educators thought humor and learning to be antithetical. It was feared that merriment would hamper the sober business of studying serious issues.
