Perry Binder's Blog

From the Archives:

 As college professorsnationwide prepare for a new academic year, my message for them is simple:Lighten up! Your students just might engage and learn.

I never dreamed ofbeing a college professor. Does anybody? When my third grade teacher asked usabout our dream job, Molly said an astronaut; Evan, an actor. Perry: Obtain a terminal degree and lecture on legal morasses.

Whether the subject islaw or nuclear physics, every student wants a good laugh. As teacheraccountability objectives collide with shorter attention spans, laughter is thesecret ingredient to keep everyone on task. Humor can even be found in the moststressful situations. For example, I tell students that I can't offer legaladvice. But that didn't stop "Steve" from calling me after class in apanic: The judge gave me ten days for speeding; they're taking me away! Sothat night, I drove to the county jail, where the innkeeper ushered me into atiny drab room facing glass.

Steve appeared on theother side, looking weary and wearing an ugly orange jumpsuit. I neverpracticed criminal law, so I just put my hand up to the glass and spread myfingers apart because I saw that done on TV. Steve finally smiled and put hishand up to mine. He told me what happened, but all I could do was stare at ourmitts and think: Hey, this TV hand thing really works!

While Steve's dilemmawas no laughing matter, I use that story on the first day of class to set thetone for the semester: Understanding the law is serious business and appliedunequally to funny, young college students without counsel. But we will laughand learn a lot together.

To me, humor in theclassroom mixes audience participation with storytelling about the quirky worldaround us. The professor and students form an improv troupe, working on theday's subject. Here are my rules of classroom engagement:

Exaggerate to Illustrate.Paint an implausible mental picture to reinforce a topic. When we study"self defense," a limping crazy man wields a lumberman's axe andapproaches a student track star limbering up for a run. If the wild man is 200feet away, does the student have a duty to retreat or can she pick up and use asubmachine gun conveniently left on a park bench?

Expect the Unexpected. When a cell phone rings, the classroom ruleis that I get to answer it. And when MY phone rang once, the students got toanswer it. Another time, students were nervous for an exam, so I asked astudent to stand up as I gave her my whiteboard marker. I then ran to the frontof the classroom, back to the students, and instructed her to wing the markerat my head (missed me, wide right). One time I wore a pair of Sketchers toclass but was skeptical on how they looked. I asked for student opinions byjumping on the computer console table and placing a sole on the documentcamera, which projected an Imax theater-size image. The original 360° Tour.

Now you might bethinking that your college won't let profs be jailhouse lawyers, encouragestudents to fling objects, or stand on expensive technology. That's not thepoint. The most important rule is to always be yourself in the classroom. Youdon't need to have a funny bone; the world around us is a gold mine ofmaterial. Consider this recent headline, Man pleads guilty to DUI inMotorized Recliner. If the law is funny, so is any subject and thus,an opportunity to humor up classrooms.

Postscript. I referred Steve to a criminal defenselawyer but my student still spent three days in jail for speeding. It would'vebeen zero if he had an attorney at the outset, which shows that maybe nothingis funny about the law after all.

I wrote this Op-Edin 2009 for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Education section(subscription required), which was reprinted in The Huffington Post. (2010) It is told in story formin Innovative College Teaching. (2024)

 © 2009-2026 Perry Binder

 

Thank you, Professors, Students, and others!

Perry 

Thank you, Professors, Students, and others!

Perry 

Thank you, Professors, Students, and others!

Perry 

Just had a fun Zoom book club with NYC/Long Islanders. Great to meet new people and reconnect with others.

Revealed that the inspiration for THE LAST FALL was a 1967 Star Trek episode, "The City on the Edge of Forever," a teleplay by the great Harlan Ellison with revisions by Gene Roddenberry. (not inspired by Stephen King's 11/22/1963)Hey, I even shared secrets for the second installment (2027) of the "Woody Fall Series," a trilogy. Stay tuned...THE LAST FALL on Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/June-1968-travel.../dp/B0GPRBDP32/

EmbracingAI in Your College Classroom (1 Hour)

The presenter shareslessons from his book, Innovative College Teaching (2024) on how touse generative artificial intelligence to engage students and inspire theirlearning. Flipping classes with AI may hold the key to student engagement andretention, by creating dynamic impromptu group activities based on assignedpodcasts. You can design real-world hypotheticalsquickly with AI, sensitize students to the positive uses and limitations of thetechnology, and develop students’ critical thinking skills by devisingsolutions through teamwork and then testing how those solutions measure up toAI’s answers. These activities demonstrate the accuracy and possible flaws ofrelying on AI. This session will be interactive, with participants sharingtheir experiences so we learn from each other. The group will also discoverfuture trends to embrace student-generated AI projects, with a demonstrationand discussion of this technology’s benefits and challenges as a teaching tool.

* * *

Teaching activities summed up in my Times Higher Ed (THE) article: Flip-Zoom-Open: How Covid and AI Transformed My Classroom (May 2025)

* * *

InnovativeCollege Teaching (1 Hour)

Based on lessons from thebook, Innovative College Teaching (2024), participants will learnhow to make the first day and every day of class inspiring andimpactful; explore methods to flip the in-person college classroom; determinewhether the structure of an online class should mirror your in-person class;discover a world without PowerPoint; use AI to develop active learning exercises;embrace why effective teaching is more improvisation than the “sage on thestage;” and ignite, re-ignite, or maintain your passion for teaching. Thissession will be interactive, with group members sharing their experiences so welearn from each other.

Email Perry for details on the half-day workshop: PerryBinder@gmail.com 

Please consider reading my historical fiction short story (7,500 words / $1.99 Kindle), June 4, 1968 - The Last Fall

#2 AMAZON NEW RELEASE: Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Reads
#3 AMAZON NEW RELEASE: Literature & Fiction Short Reads

President Bobby Kennedy was elected in 1968 because history refused to let him die.

This apolitical adventure follows college professor Woody Endicott and his star student, Axelle Flick, who time-travel to prevent RFK's assassination. Upon return to present day, the America they knew no longer exists. What began as a triumphant act of historical correction becomes a haunting moral dilemma: whether to facilitate Kennedy’s death? Again.

Structured in three acts, The Last Fall blends Stephen King's 11/22/1963 drama with TV's Quantum Leap humor. Woody on his legal woes: “Whoa, it’s like an episode of Suits, and Maule Bricker is Harvey.”

The story’s conflict is universal; its resolution maddening yet uplifting. Our hero is deeply human, as one reader notes: “I was particularly moved by the emotional depth of Woody's struggle and the subtle tragedy that accompanies his decisions.”

Purchase on Amazon (Kindle) for only $1.99

All - Please consider adding ICT to your summer reading list -- it includes a chapter and robust Appendix on using AI in the classroom.

Perry

 

An exciting, quick read - from the UK

This story was gripping from start to finish. It follows Woody, a University lecturer, and his (mis)adventures time-travelling when one of his graduate students requests he use her time-machine project so that she may have the approval required to monetise her invention. 

The pace never drops. We see Woody flick back in time about half a century to his eighteen-year-old self, strong, fit and handsome, with his future wife just as youthful and captivating, waiting in the next room. And though the objective of his visit is reached, Woody returns to a present where catastrophic events resulted from this one change. 

The story that follows is a page-turner whirlwind, with Woody trying to correct his mistake, but mostly, trying to do right by his wife, no matter what. This was something that I found particularly endearing, how even when his wife, at a certain point in his time-travelling past, caused devastating harm to him, resulting in decades of his suffering, even then he never held a harsh thought of her, and only loved her greatly. 

Such a nice quick read. 

 

5-STAR AMAZON REVIEW ...The message that resonated with me is that history, no matter how disturbing, unfolded the way it did for a reason. Fans of historical fiction will enjoy this tale. (April 2, 2026)

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/June-1968-travel-short-story-ebook/dp/B0GPRBDP32