Lots of us have had the experience of speaking to someone, having a great time, laughing all and any problems away, while embracing 5 seconds of child-like joy. All rational thought goes away and then they say, ‘darn, you’re such a pear!’ In any other time you’d probably go ‘the heck does that mean?’ but not now. You laugh and say ‘oh yeah! That’s so me!’

It becomes a running joke for weeks, each and every pear making you giggle, until you find yourself questioning everything. One teacher found themself in a similar situation when their 8th grade students called them ‘the goat.’ It took them a full year to stop and question what it all meant and, thus, as lots of adults do, they turned to Reddit for answers.

A wholesome story bloomed out of it and, dear reader, I’d like you to leave us your thoughts in the comments below, as well as upvote and follow the author to make their day better. Of course, this has come from Reddit, so we can’t guarantee the facts are 100% true, but just for a moment, let’s believe good things can happen.

More info: Reddit

A math teacher of 17 years went to Reddit seeking answers to a very important question: what does being called ‘the goat’ mean?

Image credits: liz west (not the actual photo)

A Reddit user, named PuzzleBrain20, went to the subreddit named NoStupidQuestions with a conundrum on their hands. They introduced themselves as a Math teacher for 8th graders. They all seemed to have a very friendly relationship with each other, when a joke started to fester. One of the students called the teacher ‘the goat’ at one time, making the teacher giggle and call the child ‘the goat’ back.

It became a running joke, going on for a full year. “The students would call me the goat and I would respond back each time that they are the goats and they would all laugh,” the teacher wrote. Although humorous, they gave it little thought. The kids all seemed friendly enough, and as they had a good connection, they didn’t believe it was anything malicious.

They’d been teaching 8th graders for a year and built a very close friendship with them when one day, a student called them ‘the goat’

Image credits: PuzzleBrain20

Not thinking too much about it, the teacher called the student ‘the goat’ back and so began the start of a running joke

Image credits: Laura Wolf (not the actual photo)

Their curiosity got the best of them when the realization hit that they’d been partaking in a joke they never understood. And so, they went to Reddit in search of answers. “Can someone (maybe an 8th grader) explain this joke to me? And how would you respond if someone calls you a goat?” they wrote.

Expecting a punchline, they instead got a dose of wholesomeness as users came in to explain that ‘the goat’ was an acronym for ‘Greatest Of All Time (G.O.A.T).’ It was a complete surprise for the teacher, making them burst into tears: “I can’t believe they were complimenting me this whole time!!!” they wrote.

They didn’t believe the class was laughing at them as they were really nice kids, but the confusion was getting to them

Image credits: Anthony Albright (not the actual photo)

One Reddit user pondered that the teacher was doing a great job at teaching a subject which many struggle with. They replied, explaining it to have been one of the reasons why they became a teacher in the first place. “I always hated math growing up, but then I realized at some point it’s just taught terribly,” they said, rejoicing in the fact that they could make a difference.

Now some of their students are motivated to one day solve the Millennium Prize Problems, seven complex mathematical problems selected by the Clay Mathematics Institute in 2000. The institute has pledged a $1 million prize for the first correct solution to each problem, and to date, only one of seven has been solved.

Thankfully, Reddit came back with the answers, stating that ‘the goat’ was an acronym for ‘Greatest Of All Time (G.O.A.T)’

Image credits: mulan (not the actual photo)

In the teacher’s 17 years of teaching, this has been their favorite class of students, motivating them to continue putting their heart and soul into teaching. And now, they can be certain that the students very much appreciate the effort. “I now love my students more than I already loved them, which I didn’t think was possible haha,” the teacher wrote.

Some Redditors found it quite funny that the teacher just went along with the joke, without ever considering to Google the answer or turning to Reddit sooner. Many suggested the teacher use the Urban Dictionary if they ever got into the same situation in the future. “I didn’t even know about the urban dictionary until people mentioned it here. That urban dictionary is a lifesaver,” they wrote in response.

The community praised the teacher, who was clearly was doing a great job teaching one of the most disagreeable subjects

Image credits: Mikel Santamaria (not the actual photo)

Multiple edits to the original post have been made, with updates giving a word of thanks for all the help the teacher received. The second update asked that instead of buying Reddit awards, the people should consider donating to the “Kids In Need Foundation.”

They believe every child in America should have equal opportunity and access to quality education; thus, they partner with both teachers and students in under-resourced schools and provide the support required. If you’d like to donate, there is a link here.

The teacher was incredibly touched by this, expressing their love for teaching as a whole and to the class

Image credits: Lauren (not the actual photo)

For all those struggling with math at the moment, you are not alone. But sadly, it is an important skill to practice, as it develops our capabilities to solve problems in real life and not just on paper. Eurekly believes that the only way to learn mathematics is to do mathematics. The more you practice, the better you’ll get. Throughout the process, don’t forget to review your mistakes as it’ll increase the speed of learning.

They argue that the best way to learn math is to understand the concepts and logic of each solution rather than memorizing the process. That sounds complicated enough as is, but if you apply the problem to an everyday situation, it might make more sense and will help you memorize solutions faster.

Image credits: PuzzleBrain20

Lastly, try to understand the foundations and simplify them to fit your needs. You want to really grasp how numbers and mathematical functions work over memorization. One way to explain this is through number sense. The University of the People states that if you want to understand what 9×9 is, you may take 10×9 and know that it’s 90. Then, since you’re looking for nine groupings of nine, rather than 10, you’d subtract 9 from 90 to get to 81. Simplify and adapt.

They hope that one of the students will grow up to solve one of the seven Millennium Prize Problems, becoming ‘The G.O.A.T.’ of math

Image credits: Jimmie Quick (not the actual photo)

Although there are plenty of tips and tricks on how to hack certain calculations, there’s no way around spending time practicing. Having a good teacher will help lots! And the main thing to remember is everyone struggles, but those that seek help, may find solutions quicker. Just look at this teacher here: had they asked the class immediately, they wouldn’t have had to spend a year pondering about goats.

If you’d like to explore more goat tales, Bored Panda has you covered with an adorable tale of a kitten finding a goat pen and growing up as one of the goats.

Otherwise, I shall ask you for your thoughts and opinions on this story once more and wish you a beautiful day ahead!

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