23 January 2024 , 16:20
655
0
A maths teacher has been reduced to tears after learning why his students have been calling him a 'goat' all year. He explained how students in his eighth-grade glass started calling him "the goat" at the end of his lessons - but he didn't quite understand why.
He played along with what he thought was a 'silly joke' - telling them "they are the goats", not him. Wanting to understand their 'silly joke', he took to Reddit to innocently ask users: "Why do my students call me a goat?"
He said: "I am a maths teacher for eighth graders at the school I teach at. Throughout this whole past school year there was this running joke where the students would call me the goat. And I would respond back each time that they are the goats and they would all laugh.
"It was pretty funny to be honest, and I never gave it much thought. But I realized that I have been partaking in a joke that I never actually got. I had a good connection with them, and they are all really good kids, so I don't really think that they were making fun of me.
Read more: Sign up to Mirror US's SMS updates for the latest straight from the newsroom
Nursery apologises after child with Down's syndrome ‘treated less favourably’
"Can someone (maybe an eighth grader) explain this joke to me? And how would you respond if someone calls you a goat?" To his delight, he came to learn 'goat' actually stands for 'greatest of all time' - and his students were complimenting him for his approach to teaching.
He added: "OMG! I am in tears! I can't believe they were complimenting me this whole time! Thank you all for answering this question!" Commenting on his post, one user said: "GOAT stands for greatest of all time. It’s a compliment. Sounds like you’re a great teacher and they enjoy your classes, which is saying something since maths is most people’s least favorite subject."
Another user added: "It's so cute that you didn't realize they were calling you the Greatest of All Time the whole year, and you were calling them the same back. So wholesome." A third user said: "It's a compliment, not an insult lol. GOAT stands for 'greatest of all time' like others have said. They're basically saying you're the greatest teacher." One more user added: "You're the Michael Jordan of maths teachers. It's a good thing."