"Silly Stunts" Help Motivate Students, Educators Say

The AP (7/13) reported that each year, "school administrators...make local headlines for silly stunts intended to motivate students." They "do everything from spending the day on the roof to kissing pigs to taking pies in the face to reward students for a job well done." Diane Cargile, president of the NAESP, "The antics really help 'motivate and encourage'" students. Barbara Sistrunk, "an assistant principal who jumped out of a plane when the Parent Teacher Association at Greenland Pines Elementary School in Jacksonville, Florida, met their parent participation goals," such "over-the-top acts underscore a principal's commitment to the school" and they "grab students' attention." For instance, "after Sistrunk's sky dive," a student at Greenland Pines "decided to do her science project on what type of fabric makes the best parachute."