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By Lydia PatrickShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberAn 11-year-old student wasn’t happy about receiving a B in her gym class—so she wrote a detailed email to dispute it, and the internet is loving her confidence.
Threads user Dani (@the99x2000) shared the story of her niece’s bold attempt to challenge the grade, earning more than 273,000 views on the platform.
"My 11 year old niece told me she was getting a B in PE 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," Dani wrote.
In the message, her niece—identified as Leah—politely but firmly questioned how her efforts had resulted in anything less than full marks. She opened with, "Hello Mrs Meinert. I hope you're doing well on this wonderful Saturday but I just went on gradeway and I saw I had a B in P.E. and I'm wondering how I don't have a 100 when I participate to the best of my abilities." She explained that she had "a fun time as well" and asked how she ended up with "20.00 out of 25.00 on racket sports week 1."
View on Threads
Leah noted that she consistently dressed out for class, adding that the one “no dress” happened only because her clothes were in the washer at home and, in her view, "I don't even think that counts as a part of my grade." If it did, she argued, "it shouldn't bring it down to a B when I participate in all the sports we do."
She went on to question a separate score: "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."
Despite her frustration, she emphasized her character: "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."
On Threads, users offered a mix of praise and gentle critique of her approach.
"I think the teacher would understand that the kid is 11 and is just struggling to find the right words. But yes a more inquiry focused email is the way to go.. 'What can i do better' and etc," wrote one user.
...Another commented that the email provided a perfect teaching moment: "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."
Others defended Leah’s communication skills. "She put 'I feel' in front of her assumption which is removing the accusation. She’s acknowledging it’s a feeling and not necessarily a fact. Which IS good communication. She’s also 11," one Danni noted.
Another viewer agreed, adding that her message demonstrated thoughtful interpersonal skills: "If there is evidence of a pattern it's always beneficial to bring it to the attention of the people in the conversation to make sure there is an clear understanding. She used an I statement that articulated that. Which is taught in interpersonal communication courses. She's did great better than some adults."
Dani later shared an update after her niece read some of the comments. According to Leah: "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."
Newsweek reached out to @the99x2000 for comment via Instagram. We could not verify the details of the case.
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