In the monotony of a Friday math class, instructor Michael Nolette tries to add energy to the end of each mod by competing against students in friendly push-up contests.

Before teaching at Westside, Nolette was in the military. Part of the training that goes into being a soldier is doing push-ups during physical training. This activity sparked an interest in some of the students who wanted to see how many push-ups Nolette could do.

“It started off with doing the push-ups with the kids and then gradually it evolved in a competition and doing push-ups against the kids,” Nolette said.

What began as a student interest in a teacher’s past life turned into a friendly competition. Every Friday in the last five minutes of class Nolette asks if a student would like to challenge him in a push-up contest.

The contest is how many push-ups you can do in a minute. Most of the time there is only one challenger ready to face Nolette but sometimes he will take on two people at one time.

If a student wins, the only prize rewarded is the satisfaction and glory of beating Nolette. But, the fact that only one student, sophomore Bronson Hosey, has beaten him, keeps the challenges coming.

“Hearing how Nolette was undefeated made me pumped and motivated to beat him,” Hosey said. “I never thought I would win but he tells me that he wants a rematch so I am looking forward to it.”

Some students have taken the push-up contest outside of the classroom and have been training to compete against Nolette at home by doing extra push-ups.

“They tell me that it encourages them to do more and some of them are doing a lot of push-ups at home to get ready,” Nolette said.

Nolette’s push-up contests aren’t just a Friday fun game, it has also helped Nolette bond with his students, and the students bond with Nolette.

“I feel like doing an activity with a teacher or people in general will tend to give you a closer relationship with that person,” Hosey said. “I’m more engaged in class and I pay attention to every single detail.”

Nolette plans to continue the friendly competition for as long as the students want to participate. The next competition will be in Nolette’s next Friday class.

“The push-up contests are a fun activity that helps the students and I build a positive relationship,” Nolette said. “Ultimately, positive student-teacher relationships enhance the learning environment leading to greater student success for all students.”