A teacher in a Kentucky high school recently witnessed an incredible act of kindness he will never forget. The gesture of compassion was extended by one of his students towards a classmate who was struggling academically.
On February 21, a Letcher County Central High School history teacher named Winston Lee shared a photo of an asterisked note scribbled below the last item on a World War II exam. It was written by an A+ student in his 11th-grade history class. In the note, the bright student made an unusual request – something Winston says nobody had ever asked him to do before.
“If you could, can you give my bonus points to whoever scores the lowest?” it read.
Winston says that he was taken aback by the selfless request. The day before, the whole class took an interactive review game. As expected, the unnamed student did well, earning him a total of 5 bonus points for the World War II exam.
The compassionate student scored 94 in the exam, and bonus 5 points could have bumped up his score to a 99 had he not chosen to donate it to a classmate in need.
It may have been the first time he received such a request, but Winston noted that it wasn’t out of character for the boy.
“I was pleasantly surprised,” he told Good Morning America. “He is the type of kid that would often show compassion in the classroom.”
Giving up extra points is something that the teacher didn’t expect from a high schooler, let alone from someone who was an honor student. As an educator, Winston understands how crucial bonus points are in an examination, especially for a difficult one.
The 5 bonus points ended up going to a female student who scored 58 points – two points short of the exam’s passing score of 60. She would have failed the test, but her classmate’s extra points saved her grade.
Though the request was unconventional, Winston decided to grant it in the name of compassion – something that this student clearly had lots of. The teacher was so touched by the gesture that he decided to share the story on his Facebook, hoping to inspire those who would see it.
“Have to shout this out. Had honestly never seen this… One of my guys, a straight A+ guy, offers up his 5 bonus points to someone in need,” he began the post.
“Anyone. Totally offering up what is rightfully his, his earning, to any peer that may have been struggling especially hard the day of the test,” Winston continued. “He didn’t care if he considered them a friend, didn’t care if they were cool, didn’t matter to him what situation had caused them to score lower, he just wanted to help, be kind, commit a loving act.”
He ended the post by encouraging people to be “a little more like this young man.” At the time of writing, the post has garnered 97,000 reactions and 67,000 shares.
Many people commended the unnamed student for his generous act.
However, several others disagreed with the boy’s request, saying that it wasn’t the right way to help someone struggling with grades.
Winston defended his decision by noting that he teaches in a Title I school, which means that some of the kids there live in low-income households.
“Not all are great test-takers or in a comfortable situation at home that allows them to focus on studying,” he said.
Nevertheless, this boy’s heart was in the right place, and his kind act definitely deserves to be lauded!
Did you think it was right for the student to give away his points? Let us know what you think in the comments!