A Kansas mom became upset when she saw an elementary school teacher’s “warning” on her 7-year-old daughter’s paper. For most first graders, a school is a place where teachers cultivate and praise learning, especially if it exceeds expectations.
Of course, no parent would ever imagine that a trusted educator would attempt to hold back their child’s progress. However, for Kansas mom Brenda Hatcher, that’s exactly what happened when her daughter showed signs of accelerated learning.
When Brenda picked up her 7-year-old daughter Alyssa from school, she looked through her backpack, checking her day’s work. The caring mother couldn’t believe her eyes when she spotted a correction in bright red ink at the top of her child’s grammar lesson. However, it wasn’t something that the girl answered wrong that earned the teacher’s scorn.
Brenda Hatcher shared a photo of her daughter’s paper on social media, expressing outrage over the teacher’s mark, which had absolutely nothing to do with any error committed by the child. Instead of correcting a mistake or issue with the 7-year-old’s answers, the teacher proceeded to chastise Brenda’s daughter for displaying superior penmanship, scolding, “Stop writing in cursive. You have had several warnings.”
Even more disturbing to Brenda was that the teacher’s chiding wasn’t pointing to anything Alyssa had answered in the homework section. In fact, the offense to which the educator was referring was the child’s name at the top of her paper.
Understandably, Brenda Hatcher was confused and incensed that the teacher took issue with her child practicing writing her name in cursive.
“Alyssa is 7!!! Not only is her mother a military veteran but, she took the time to teach her very young child how to write in cursive… This is her teacher’s response… What is wrong with today’s school system/society???”
Brenda expressed her concern that the teacher’s chastisement could discourage her daughter and fellow classmates from giving their best. She and others on social media pointed out that this type of response to students going above and beyond in the classroom undoubtedly creates an atmosphere of conformity instead of nurturing their individual skills.
Brenda Hatcher further explained that Alyssa doesn’t do this sort of thing all the time. She added that writing in cursive used to be encouraged rather than punished.
“The thing is is that she doesn’t write everything in cursive,” she commented. “That’s her own personal signature… I had to learn to write in cursive when I was young… This should never be something a teacher frowns upon.”
Brenda further pointed to the teacher’s apparent hypocrisy, alleging that she should work on her own writing before scolding the students for their developments.
“And apparently she can’t even get things right herself as an adult… Considering her little mess at the beginning of her lovely note… To a 7 year old…” she wrote.
While most social media users shared in Brenda’s outrage, some argued that the issue was not in excelling but in obeying commands. Still, others expressed the importance of individuality over sheer obedience.
Brenda remains proud of her little girl, regardless of the teacher’s disapproval in her handwriting practices. Incredibly, this simple warning has sparked an important debate on the potential flaws in the public education system. Despite where you stand on the issues of writing in cursive or following instructions, most can agree that there are crucial issues in the school system that need to be addressed.