00:00A Kansas mom became upset when she saw an elementary school teacher's warning on her
00:05seven-year-old daughter's paper. For most first graders, a school is a place where teachers
00:10cultivate and praise learning, especially if it exceeds expectations. Of course, no parent would
00:15ever imagine that a trusted educator would attempt to hold back their child's progress.
00:20However, for Kansas mom Brenda Hatcher, that's exactly what happened when her daughter showed
00:25signs of accelerated learning. When Brenda picked up her seven-year-old daughter Alyssa from school,
00:30she looked through her backpack, checking her day's work. The caring mother couldn't believe
00:34her eyes when she spotted a correction in bright red ink at the top of her child's grammar lesson.
00:39However, it wasn't something that the girl answered wrong that earned the teacher's scorn.
00:43Brenda Hatcher shared a photo of her daughter's paper on social media, expressing outrage over
00:49the teacher's mark, which had absolutely nothing to do with any error committed by the child.
00:54Instead of correcting a mistake or issue with the seven-year-old's answers, the teacher proceeded
00:59to chastise Brenda's daughter for displaying superior penmanship, scolding, stop writing in
01:04cursive. You have had several warnings. Even more disturbing to Brenda was that the teacher's
01:09chiding wasn't pointing to anything Alyssa had answered in the homework section. In fact,
01:14the offense to which the educator was referring was the child's name at the top of her paper.
01:19Understandably, Brenda Hatcher was confused and incensed that the teacher took issue with her
01:24child practicing writing her name in cursive. Alyssa is seven. Not only is her mother a military
01:30veteran, but she took the time to teach her very young child how to write in cursive.
01:35This is her teacher's response. What is wrong with today's school system slash society?
01:40Brenda expressed her concern that the teacher's chastisement could discourage her daughter
01:44and fellow classmates from giving their best. She and others on social media pointed out that
01:49this type of response to students going above and beyond in the classroom undoubtedly creates
01:54an atmosphere of conformity instead of nurturing their individual skills.
01:58Brenda Hatcher further explained that Alyssa doesn't do this sort of thing all the time.
02:03She added that writing in cursive used to be encouraged rather than punished.
02:06The thing is is that she doesn't write everything in cursive, she commented. That's her own personal
02:12signature. I had to learn to write in cursive when I was young. This should never be something
02:17a teacher frowns upon. Brenda further pointed to the teacher's apparent hypocrisy, alleging that
02:22she should work on her own writing before scolding the students for their developments. And apparently,
02:27she can't even get things right herself as an adult, considering her little mess at the beginning
02:31of her lovely note. To a seven-year-old, she wrote. While most social media users shared in Brenda's
02:37outrage, some argued that the issue was not in excelling but in obeying commands. Still, others
02:43expressed the importance of individuality over sheer obedience. Brenda remains proud of her little girl,
02:49regardless of the teacher's disapproval in her handwriting practices. Incredibly, this simple warning
02:54has sparked an important debate on the potential flaws in the public education system. Despite where you
03:00stand on the issues of writing in cursive or following instructions, most can agree that there are crucial
03:05issues in the school system that need to be addressed.
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