Mom Writes Emotional Letter To Her Son's Kindergarten Teacher — 'I Already Know You Will Be Horrible To My Boy'
She's worried about how her son will adapt to school.
TikTok via @punkrockteacher Aaron Leatherbarrow is known to his social media following as the "Punk Rock Teacher." With his unconventional teaching style, he's not only reaching the 10th-grade English class he teaches but also spreading his "punk rock" teaching philosophy through the popular video-sharing app TikTok.
In a recent post, Leatherbarrow took the time to read a letter from a concerned mother. The mother's heartfelt words were a cry against the system that she believes is failing her "brilliant, beautiful boy."
A mom wrote an emotional letter to her son's kindergarten teacher.
"My child is starting kindergarten this week. I already know that you will be horrible to my boy. He runs in the grass barefoot, he pees in bushes, his hair is long and he has no desire to read at the age of five," she wrote.
She continued by saying that the educational system in place is going to fail children like her son, who don't excel academically as much as others.
"I've already been told by you that he is academically behind and is going to struggle. Your system has set my child, my brilliant, beautiful boy, up for failure," she wrote.
She remarked on her son's talents that would go underappreciated in the classroom.
"You will not notice that he listens, that he's kind to everyone, that he kisses his sister and protects her. You don't care that he excels at jiu-jitsu, then can scale walls like he's Spider-Man. He's hilarious and knows what I'm thinking before I can articulate it. He swims as if he is from Atlantis and has the beauty and the complexion of the gods," she wrote.
Leatherbarrow's reading of the letter was not only a platform for one mother's fears but a testament to a broader concern as many parents chimed in with similar concerns in the comments.
"My youngest starts kindergarten. She is wild and full of life. I'm afraid of the system destroying her fire," one parent wrote.
Another shared their emotional experience, stating, "I didn't cry all morning dropping off both my kids. But now I am ugly crying. I'm so proud of my little outcasts! They see all the beauty in life."
These comments reflect a growing discontent with a system that, in the eyes of many, seems to stifle creativity and uniqueness.
Leatherbarrow's viral post serves as a reminder that education is not a one-size-fits-all approach. The letter he read, filled with a mother's passion for her child, who is filled with love and athletic talents, challenges the very notions of success and failure in the current education system.
But how can such a long-standing system change? Partially through teachers like Leatherbarrow, who acknowledge the pitfalls and try to change it by teaching not just English but "basically anything that fights the system," according to his website.
The best way to figure out what has to change is to listen to students. In a New York Times article from 2019, they asked several students what they would like to see change in the current education system. Many of the answers say to "de-emphasize grades" and to "put less pressure on students."
You heard the children, now the ball is in the system's court.
Ethan Cotler is a writer and frequent contributor to YourTango living in Boston. His writing covers entertainment, news, and human interest stories.