14 DAY TRIAL // A 62-year-old teacher from Spokane Valley, Washington has had to dye his hair pink after losing a bet with his students.
David Robinson agreed to the bet for a school event. He wanted students to collect, then sell candy for the annual fall festival. He plans on using the money to raise awareness of cancer.
He teaches social studies at East Valley High School, and his students actually suggested the hair color. He accepted donning a pink beard, in addition to pink hair.
“One of the kids said, ‘Would you entertain dying your beard pink if we brought in 20 pounds of candy?’ Then it escalated to my hair, and I finally said, ‘Here’s the deal. I’ll dye both my hair and my beard for one week if you bring in 45 pounds (20 kg) of candy,’” Robinson describes.
It worked and the students collected 45 pounds (20 kg) of sweets, ABC News reported.
“I’m just tickled. My five classes collected 46 pounds of candy. That’s a lot of candy,” he notes.
This is the teacher's last week with the school, as he is retiring after 15 years in the educational system. He also spent 24 years in the military, before that.
“They know that, having been an Air Force survival instructor, any time I put my coin on the table I will follow through. I told them, ‘I’m game,’ and this is my penance,” he says.
He is fueled by a wish to raise money for a cancer group. The teacher's mother died of Hodgkin’s lymphoma three decades ago.
“I thought, boy, this is the perfect opportunity to do something that I should have done a long time ago.
“One high school teacher doesn’t really stick out very much. But all of a sudden everybody in the high school knows me and they also know about the cause, which is great,” he explains.