Students Take to the Skies as Reward for Classroom Work

By Holly Klaft

Michigan third-grade teacher Brandon Morrow has found a novel way to reward his pupils for memorizing multiplication tables: he takes them up for rides in his Cessna Skyhawk, while teaching them a bit of science along the way. "It's an incentive ... to help motivate them along," says Morrow, a licensed pilot for three years who is working toward a commercial rating at ProFlight Training Academy. Last year, he took up 18 of his students, while this year saw 15 "multiplication high fliers," including 8-year-old Bethany Mahan, whose mother, Debbie, expressed excitement about the opportunity. "It's a very unique idea," said Debbie. Bethany said, "Going above the clouds was my favorite part." During the trip, Morrow has the students measure a balloon to learn about how air pressure changed as the airplane ascended into the sky.

May 4, 2009