While grading exams, a teacher experienced a heartwarming moment when a courteous student asked if he could give part of his score to a classmate who had received the lowest grade. Winston Lee, who teaches at Letcher County Central High School in Kentucky, was reviewing the last bonus question on a student’s paper when he came across a surprising request. The student had written, “If you could, could you give my bonus points to whoever gets the lowest score?”
Winston was “taken aback” by this generous gesture, as he had never encountered a student willing to give away their own points to help someone else. Deeply moved by the student’s empathy, Winston decided to honor the request and transferred the five bonus points to a classmate who needed them. “I just had to share this,” Winston posted online. “I honestly had never seen anything like this…”
He explained, “One of my students—an A+ performer—chose to give up his five bonus points to someone who might have been struggling. He was willing to give up what he had rightfully earned, just to help another peer. It didn’t matter to him whether they were friends, whether the other student was popular, or what had led them to perform poorly—he simply wanted to do a good deed, to be kind and selfless.”
Winston hopes that by sharing this student’s touching act, others might be inspired to show similar generosity. “It was a beautiful surprise,” he said about the exam note. “To me, it reflected a deeply caring and kind-hearted action.” He added that the student is known for regularly showing kindness in the classroom.
“In all my years of teaching, I’ve never seen a student willingly give up something they earned in order to offer someone else a second chance. The takeaway here is to learn from this young man and spread that kindness forward.”