Math Teacher in Reading Wears Kilt to Motivate Students

[Chas]

Sorry, I must disagree. Does the teacher do push ups everyday in class, has he sported a blue Mohawk for the last year? If the answer to these questions is yes than the wearing of the kilt (which is on a par with these two) is reasonable . If on the other hand he has not done these things, then the wearing of the kilt is unreasonable. From the tone of the article, his kilt wearing was the first of three 'trials' he had to perform.

We have all heard the expression 'Drop and give me twenty!'. Is it said to people who have earned praise or is it said as a punishment.

This is an humiliation - self imposed - but still done as an humiliation. It reduces the kilt to a mere piece of costume - a tutu, a bussle, fishnet stockings, a kimono, swim flippers and a thong - all would be humiliating in the classroom environment.

If the teacher wore a kilt on a daily basis, then it would be standard, normal, ordinary, not newsworthy.

This is not a good advertisement for kilt wearing.

Regards

Chas

[sathor]

Sorry, I must disagree. Does the teacher do push ups everyday in class, has he sported a blue Mohawk for the last year? If the answer to these questions is yes than the wearing of the kilt (which is on a par with these two) is reasonable . If on the other hand he has not done these things, then the wearing of the kilt is unreasonable. From the tone of the article, his kilt wearing was the first of three 'trials' he had to perform
....

If the teacher wore a kilt on a daily basis, then it would be standard, normal, ordinary, not newsworthy.

Of course, one might ask just where did that Kilt come from? Did he alreqady have it? Did he actually 'pull a fast one' in making it look like it wasn't his idea so that he could wear it? Did he just pull a con to get the Kilt in the door, so to speak?

[GreenDragon]

maybe he's one of US?

[bricelythgoe]

Sorry, I must disagree. Does the teacher do push ups everyday in class, has he sported a blue Mohawk for the last year? If the answer to these questions is yes than the wearing of the kilt (which is on a par with these two) is reasonable . If on the other hand he has not done these things, then the wearing of the kilt is unreasonable. From the tone of the article, his kilt wearing was the first of three 'trials' he had to perform.

We have all heard the expression 'Drop and give me twenty!'. Is it said to people who have earned praise or is it said as a punishment.

This is an humiliation - self imposed - but still done as an humiliation. It reduces the kilt to a mere piece of costume - a tutu, a bussle, fishnet stockings, a kimono, swim flippers and a thong - all would be humiliating in the classroom environment.

If the teacher wore a kilt on a daily basis, then it would be standard, normal, ordinary, not newsworthy.

This is not a good advertisement for kilt wearing.

Regards

Chas

You make a very good point. That is what I was thinking when I original read about it.

[GreenDragon]

What if the kids in his class knew of him wearing a kilt prior to this whole thing? Say they knew he had one / wore one occasionally and had never seen it and used this as a way to get him to wear it to school? Just a theory.

[mbhandy]

swim flippers and a thong - would be humiliating in the classroom environment.

If the teacher wore a kilt on a daily basis, then it would be standard, normal, ordinary, not newsworthy.

Chas

Now Swim Flippers and a thong just might be Humiliating to some people but to others it might be what they wear at home.
I feel he is using this as a motivational tool and it is how you look at the project as being positive or negative. The 7th grade kids I worked with would feel they had reached their goal if I was to do some thing they would be afraid to do. Then I would do it and get them to do it also. I taught out door recreation to hard core kids and getting them to repel over a 80 ft cliff was a challenge.

I give him kudos for having nerve to challenge his kids to do better. We need more Teachers like him that think outside the box to motivate the kids in their class room.

MrBill

[chasem]

Sorry, I must disagree. Does the teacher do push ups everyday in class, has he sported a blue Mohawk for the last year? If the answer to these questions is yes than the wearing of the kilt (which is on a par with these two) is reasonable . If on the other hand he has not done these things, then the wearing of the kilt is unreasonable. From the tone of the article, his kilt wearing was the first of three 'trials' he had to perform.

We have all heard the expression 'Drop and give me twenty!'. Is it said to people who have earned praise or is it said as a punishment.

This is an humiliation - self imposed - but still done as an humiliation. It reduces the kilt to a mere piece of costume - a tutu, a bussle, fishnet stockings, a kimono, swim flippers and a thong - all would be humiliating in the classroom environment.

If the teacher wore a kilt on a daily basis, then it would be standard, normal, ordinary, not newsworthy.

This is not a good advertisement for kilt wearing.

Regards

Chas

I disagree. As someone going into teaching, I feel it's just another motivational tool. I had a teacher in high school who would give us a peppermint on test days. Something to calm us, slightly distract us from the tension of the test, and it's also a tasty treat.

Just because it wasn't something that was done every day doesn't mean it's something used to be humiliating. It's just a tasty treat, something to relieve the tension.

Or teachers who have assigned seating in their classrooms, but every great once in a while allow the students to sit where they want. They're rewarding the students with a change in pace. Not humiliating the students by forcing them to sit by people they don't normally sit by.

I also had a principal who allowed himself to be duct-taped to a wall whilst standing on a chair, then the chair removed, as part of a fund-raiser. It wasn't humiliating to hiim to be taped to the wall. At most it was humorous to see, and all the kids enjoyed it (read: they enjoyed it because it was cool to see the principal doing something different, not because they were ridiculing him for being taped to a wall).

I still don't see this as a bad thing. He looks as though he was wearing the kilt respectfully, and with some degree of experience in prior wearing, and it was just something to break the mold of the everyday monotony of school. Nothing more.

-Chase