Teacher bursts into tears after learning why his students call him 'goat'

23 January 2024 , 16:20

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His students refer to him at a 'goat' (stock photo) (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

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.

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"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."

Paige Freshwater