ASK elementary principal kisses pig

Unique incentive motivates students to read 7,465 books
 

How far will a principal go to encourage students to read more? Following the lead of principals who have moved their desk to the school roof or took a pie in the face, Anna S. Kuhl Elementary School Principal Donna Muro went to great lengths to motivate students to read.

 

Special thank to ASK Librarian Linda Mole and her father, Fred Stoll, for bringing the piglet to school.

In March, Muro made an unusual deal with her students. She promised to kiss a pig if they read 2,500 books. The students took Muro up on her offer. Motivated by the unique reward, the students far surpassed the agreed upon quota – reading 7,465 books.

Keeping her promise, Muro invited all of the students to the ASK courtyard April 17 to watch the much anticipated pig kiss. At first, it looked as if the deal had gone sour. First, Muro tried to pawn the kiss off on a cute, little stuffed pink piglet. When the first decoy didn't cut it, Muro brought in another substitute - a papier-mâché headed pig named Hoink, Jr. (alias Keegan Dunn). Hoink, Jr. was a big hit, but he still wasn't what everyone was waiting to see.

Then, with much fanfare, the real pig - a 15-pound piglet - made her début. Much to the students' amusement, Muro, who was clad in bib overalls, kept her promise and planted several big kisses on the piglet's snout.

Since the students read three times the recommended number of books, Muro said she had tripled the prize. Instead of puckering up for just one swine, the adventurous elementary principal ended up kissing three pigs.
 

The event was held in conjunction with the school’s annual Parents as Reading Partners Program. Muro says she got the idea for the pig-kissing promise from the children’s book, Our Principal Promised to Kiss a Pig. Like Muro, the book’s main character uses an unconventional incentive to inspire students to read.


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