Like many students, teacher prefers shorts year-round

Eric Echelberger (left, in shorts)
and Doug Harrison 

By Star Friend

WINCHESTER - “The nice thing about Wednesdays is that we can wear shorts,” Handley German teacher Eric Echelberger remarked on a cool morning outside school as he and other staffers handed out materials to distance learning students.

While JHHS teachers are expected to dress professionally when students are in class, they can be more casual on workdays and when students are distance learning on Wednesdays this semester.

Echelberger is one of many men and boys who prefer to wear shorts year-round, even when the weather is cold. It is a phenomenon that has been observed by confused parents and teachers for many years, and was even the topic of a January 2020 article in The Atlantic.

Observers note the habit is much more common among boys. Theories about the reasons behind it vary.

For Echelberger, who tends to feel hot when others are cold, it’s an issue of being comfortable. He thinks it’s a matter of physiology.

“I told Caitlin, ‘My thigh is as big as your waist’,” Eric said, referring to his wife Caitlin Echelberger, who teaches math at Handley. “She said it wasn’t, but we measured, and my thigh is as big as her waist.”

Handley English teacher Beth Healey has the opposite issue. She’s more likely to be cold when others are hot. Healey said she has noticed boys wearing shorts in the winter.

“I have a cousin who does that - always shorts, unless it’s like a wedding or something,” Healey said.

A mother of three boys, Healey said her sons do enjoy wearing shorts.

“They always want to wear shorts when it’s cold out, but not usually when it’s super cold, and I mean, I let them.”