Dad shares heartbreaking comment teacher left on 11-yr-old daughter's dream of being the 'perfect gymnast'

Teachers often get praised for their efforts in motivating their students despite noticing all the latter’s flaws. Their job is not to put the pupils down but to uplift their spirits. However, some educators, probably either not passionate enough or ignorant of the important role they play in society, resort to cheap tactics that may eventually hamper a child’s growth. Facing the same, an outraged dad—who goes by u/Careful-Total-3216 on Reddit—shared how his daughter recently came home from school sad, receiving a mean remark on her homework.

In a widely circulating post, the upset father expressed his anger at the rude educator for writing an uncalled-for comment. The teenage girl, who happens to be an amateur athlete, was told that she would not be able to make it to the Olympics—a dream she holds dearly. Notably, this incident happened a month after the 11-year-old competed in a nationwide gymnastics competition.

“My daughter’s teacher wrote this comment on her homework,” the dad, flabbergasted by the remark, took a picture of it and shared it on social media. It showed two sets of questions: (A.) “My Hopes and Dreams” and (B.) “Significant People in My Life.” While the second was checked properly, the innocent yet heartwarming response to the former irked the educator for unknown reasons. The teen simply had written: “To go to the Olympics for gymnastics. To be a perfect gymnast.”

Apologizing for the 11-year-old for dreaming big, the teacher with the red ink added a remark saying, “It will never happen, sorry.” Her dad was taken aback by the educator's appalling note, clearly written in an upsetting tone. He believed it not only affected his daughter’s morale but was also an attempt to sideline her dreams in the cruelest way possible. In fact, the note has been the subject of widespread criticism from those on the internet expressing their fury on the matter.

Among them, u/Comprehensive_Tie538 commented, "I tend to believe that people are capable of doing the most absurd things imaginable, but this one feels entirely unnecessary.” “I would greatly appreciate compelling them to issue a public apology to the child," u/nfurter lashed out. “I wanted to be an astronaut; the worst a teacher ever said to me about it was if I wanted that, I needed to keep my grades high, and it was a lot of hard work and dedication. They very graciously did not say to me, ‘Never gonna happen,’” u/Not_Cartmans_Mom recalled.

The incident reminded several others to share similar experiences and how they had a difficult time dealing with them. Hoping the girl would win an Olympic gold medal, u/randomusername1919 shared, “In first grade, my teacher repeatedly told me I was bad at math, and I believed her. It wasn't until my senior year in college when I had to take calculus, that I realized I had a knack for it. My Calculus 2 professor even suggested I become a math major.” u/Immediate-Care1078 called for a reality check for the teacher, adding, “Take it to the principal—I’m serious. Crushing dreams is for life, not for an elementary school educator.”