Hartman’s guest stars satirically raise bar of remote learning for Pre College students
Though this year has felt like watching a rerun TV program on infinite loop, English teacher Brett Hartman tried to change the channel by introducing his students to satire with the help of two famous satirists.
“I fear that classes may become monotonous and boring, and I think that some students may feel the same way,” he said. “I think that satire is one way to bring engagement back because it is such a lighthearted and hopefully funny topic to study.”
Hartman’s Pre-College English classes recently began to study satire, the use of comedy and ridicule to criticize people or topics in order to bring attention to their absurdity. Hartman sought to set up a live meeting with an expert, believing that a conversation on the topic with a person who practices satire daily would be beneficial for students.
“I spent a lot of time researching how to contact different comedians or celebrities through their publishers and managers,” he said. “I sent a total of 15-20 emails, hoping for the best.”
He was surprised to hear from each speaker and appreciated their interest in wanting to participate.
“When I sent out an email to the guests, I put in parentheses, kind of as a joke, ‘you’re welcome to come and teach a class too’ and that’s what both of these guest speakers chose to do, which was awesome,” he said.
On December 3, Jordan Klepper, professional satirist for The Daily Show, joined a class Google Meet. Assistant principal Aaron Herm was excited that he was invited to this opportunity to learn in depth about how satire is used on a daily basis.
“I was surprised by how much research and careful thought goes into satirizing something,” he said. “On the surface, when you're watching The Daily Show or reading The Onion, it just looks like people making fun of something. In truth, there's a lot of thought going on behind the scenes.”
Hartman hoped that inviting these professionals would provide his students with a deeper understanding of their current studies.
“Jordan Klepper talked about the role of The Daily Show and satirical news versus fake news,” he said. “He explained how they go about trying to raise awareness while being well informed yet still also adding humor.”
Senior Ashlyn Jones appreciated the change from her daily class schedule of periodical live sessions with the same teachers. She knew that she and her peers would be more engaged to hear from a professional.
“I enjoyed listening to him because it was really interesting to hear about his point of view, his thought process, and his work,” she said.
Learning from Klepper provided an insider perspective of how satirical news works.
“I think it was interesting that he talked about how he has to be careful because many people cannot tell the difference between satire and real news,” Jones said. “I was surprised at how many people thought satirical news was real.”
Klepper himself has previously fallen into this mindset as well; within the meeting he made sure to warn the students that this form of news is not entirely factual, but meant for a different purpose.
“When it came to the news I used to always be watching The Daily Show,” he said. “That is the power of comedy and satire. We sneak the medicine into the peanut butter so it goes down easily. The Daily Show is a great example of finding a comedic way to approach an issue that you wouldn't otherwise care about.”
Jones learned that Klepper’s main intent was to inform people in a comedic way and then point them to more credible news sources.
“A lot of satire in the media today is imitating something to make fun of how ridiculous it is and hoping that the audience will make the connection in their minds,” Jones said.
During the meeting, Klepper informed the students about his true intention as an entertainer.
“A comedian's job is to not only make a point but to make it so it is something the viewer would want to watch and pay attention to,” he said. “But again, don't let that be the end all be all. Trevor Noah is an awesome, smart guy who has awesome and thoughtful opinions, but he would be the first to tell you not to let him be your only news source but to let him be someone who pulls you in so you stay curious.”
At the end of the call with Klepper, the students, Jones being one of them, were able to ask questions.
“I asked him why he feels that The Daily Show and shows like it are important to society and if he thinks satire and comedy can help make a change,” she said. “He said that although he doesn’t believe that what he does is the most important, he hopes that through his comedy, he can drive people to look into the issues that he is addressing.”
The goal of many satirical programs is to reach the audience with the appeal of humor. The other guest speaker, Family Guy writer Richard Appel, reached students at West on November 19. He emphasized the difference in satire between his show and others.
“Hearing Mr. Appel talk about satire really helped me,” Hartman said. “Not everything within Family Guy is satirical, so we try to draw the line between comedy to get a laugh and comedy to make a point. Now, moving forward when we discuss that in future years, I now know that from an expert and from somebody in the industry.”
Many students like senior Nathan Shultz found that learning from and relating to a famous person encouraged students to participate in class.
“Instead of a lecture on a screen like the regular class format, you can connect to live speakers, and you can learn more from the people that create the things that you like,” he said.
Appel also discussed the production of television and the difference between utilizing satire in a live show as compared to an animated program.
“For Family Guy, it’s a little more difficult to use satire because they record up to 14 months before each episode goes live,” Shultz said. “So, they have to talk about more general topics of satire that relate to us as humans rather than current events.”
During the interview, it was mentioned that Hartman may have a guest appearance on the show.
“I promise you guys we are going to have a character named Brett Hartman in Family Guy,” Appel said. “It's going to happen, don’t think it’s not. I'm just going to take a quick picture for the design team, and we will make a joke about how Mr. Hartman is the youngest greyed-hair person I've ever seen in my life.”
The comedic and lighthearted personalities of the guest speakers proved to be impactful on students and staff alike. Herm believes that live sessions like these are immensely important in the learning process of many students.
“I'm a huge believer that learning is not about quietly sitting and absorbing information from the teacher everyday,” he said. “It's about engaging in activities, having discussions, creating products, and hearing from real experts.”
Although virtual learning has provided students with a multitude of obstacles, it has also brought new opportunities that would not have been previously possible.
“I feel like I learned things that I wouldn’t have thought about otherwise,” senior Kaitlyn Benson said. “I think it was a really cool opportunity to experience something different. Especially at high school level, this isn’t something that you get to do everyday.”
During the final minutes of the meeting, Klepper addressed the seniors in the class, leaving them with words of encouragement.
“This has to be a very weird year for the seniors,” he said. “I do think that you will be going into a new world where people are looking for answers and new fresh ideas. I hope you know that you are going to get a chance and this world is going to need some fresh ideas; all of that curiosity and those voices are going to be needed by the world.”
By Grace Weber and Abby Eaton
Oshkosh West Index Volume 117 Issue III
December 11th, 2020