The Perils of Pedagogy: Student Yawns So Widely In Class That She Has To Be Rushed To Hospital
jonathanturley
Teachers cannot always guarantee to keep the students on the edge of their seats. An occasional yawn is an occupational hazard. However, one teacher at Northampton School for Girls in England has the dubious distinction of causing a yawn so great that it sent a girl to the hospital.
Holly Thomson,17, was in a Government and Politics lecture when she yawned so widely that she dislocated her jaw. Her mouth was left locked open and she was taken to a hospital after the teacher noticed a friend trying to help her close her jaw. An emergency room doctor succeeded in wedging open Thomson’s mouth with a stack of 26 splints and it cracked back into place.
It is not clear if the school will now post a warning that “Government studies can lead to lock jaw and life threatening yawns in some people.” What is clear is that Thomson may want to look into a literature course as an alternative.
