11-year-old girl unhappy with Gym class grade writes letter to P.E teacher: 'How I don't have a 100'
'I feel like you're giving me a bad grade when you don't even genuinely watch me play.'
Scoring lower grades can be disheartening, especially when you anticipated better. However, when 11-year-old Leah received a B grade in her gym class, she wasn't too thrilled and wasn't going to let it slide either. She decided to voice her disapproval by writing an email to her P.E. teacher, which has left online users with mixed reactions. Posting the little girl's email on November 23, her aunt, Dani (@the99x2000), shared her niece's bold statement that has now earned more than 275,000 views on Threads.
When 11-year-old Leah received a B in her gym class, she was not going to let it slide. Sharing a screenshot of the email she had written addressing her PE teacher, Leah's aunt, Dani captioned, "My 11-year-old niece told me she was getting a B in P.E and wrote an email to the teacher to dispute it. I told her I’m so proud and to never stop advocating for herself. It’s also very funny! She better change my niece's grade too." In the email, Leah firmly questioned how her efforts were not acknowledged. She wrote, "I'm wondering how I don't have a 100 when I participate to the best of my abilities." The little girl noted that she consistently dressed for her gym class, except one day when her clothes were in the washer, but she still believed it would be unfair to bring her grade down to a B for that reason alone.
The letter further read, "I also got a 12.00 out of 15.00 in field hockey when I played and I didn't do anything wrong that day so I'm starting to feel like you're giving me a bad grade when you don't even genuinely watch me play and there's many more that I've noticed." However, despite expressing her frustration, Leah noted that she was just curious to know the reason for her low grade and wrote, "I'm a very nice and respectful person but I don't understand why my grade is this way please email me back if you have a reason I got the grade I have. Your P.E. student Leah." Interestingly, @the99x2000 shared that Leah's teacher indeed responded to the email and acknowledged the mistake on her part. "BY THE WAY! My niece read some comments and responded lol 'my teacher said she will fix my grade and I do deserve an A. She hasn't been paying attention and she does recognize that. And other people have asked about their grade and it's on her to make it clear on how people are graded,'" she wrote.
A 2016 study by Ahmad Ali Eslami explored whether assertiveness can strengthen children’s confidence and reduce social anxiety. The study showed that assertiveness training in high school students decreases their anxiety, stress, and depression. By being vocal about her feelings and questioning her teacher's assessment, Leah exhibited qualities of a confident student who isn’t afraid to stand up for herself.
Soon after the post went viral, Leah's email was met with varied reactions from online users. @theblackkaren wrote, "This is a good time to teach her that self advocacy does not need to include accusatory language (I'm starting to feel like you’re giving me a bad grade when you don't even genuinely watch me play). Always reread your messages and remove combative, accusatory language because it'll land better with the person on the receiving end." @mcarrascoburge shared, "Love the self-advocacy. But her little world is going to be rocked when she discovers that participation and having a good time are not the same as demonstrating mastery. I teach 2nd grade, and that's about the time kids start to realize they don't get points for just coloring in the lines anymore. They have to prove mastery of skills. It's a rough transition." @henry_the_rot commented, "As a PE teacher, just because you try to the best of your abilities, you don't get an A. Does that argument work in Math? English? Etc?"
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