Mom Asks Daughter What She Likes About 2nd Grade Teacher—Answer Goes Viral
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
As the school year draws to a close, parents across the country are picking up gifts for their children's teachers—often mugs, chocolates, or flowers. But one mother took a more personal approach, sharing her daughter's heartfelt words in a thank-you card.
Posting on Reddit on June 24, the mom said: "[I] Asked my daughter to tell me what she liked about her teacher so I could write a standard, somewhat personalized thank you card for her. I never get much information out of my daughter, but she was ready to talk about this woman."
The post shared by u/pettypiranhaplant quickly resonated, earning more than 5,300 upvotes. In the comments, she said: "I was ugly crying typing it up for her."
A copy of the letter written by the mom on behalf of her daughter.
A copy of the letter written by the mom on behalf of her daughter.
Reddit/pettypiranhaplant
The letter itself included touching lines from Mia, her 8-year-old daughter, about the teacher (whose name was blurred):
"I love her because she is kind."
"She lets me talk about things that I know a lot about like butterfly reviews and jumpy the spider."
"She doesn't yell."
"She makes everything better."
Newsweek discussed the heartfelt note with head teacher Chris McNab, who works at Overton Grange School, in South London.
McNab, who has been a teacher for almost three decades, said: "A good teacher fills the potholes that students may face on their journey; this could be in the form of subject expertise, extensive pastoral support, securing an exciting opportunity or merely demonstrating warmth and kindness through their everyday practice."
In another update, the mother wrote: "I was so touched by her answer that I'm just going to give the teacher a copy of what she had to say about her.
"I'm ASD1 and my daughter hasn't going through the testing yet but we highly suspect it. She only talks like this about things that she's really passionate about. Getting stuff like this out of her is usually torture, but she was so excited to tell me all of the things she loved about this woman. I'm so thankful she has that kind of support when she's outside of our house."
ASD1, stands for Autism Spectrum Disorder Level 1, and it is the mildest form of autism, according to Ascend Autism. Children with ASD1 often have strong focus and intelligence but may struggle with conversation, social cues, and interactions. While autism includes a wide range of challenges in social skills, repetitive behaviors, and communication, Level 1 describes those who need minimal support yet still face noticeable difficulties with social communication.
So far, the post has touched the hearts of more than 70 commenters.
"As a second grade teacher, this would make my year! Thank you for doing this," said one user, and another wrote: "this is emotional."
Newsweek is waiting for u/pettypiranhaplant to provide a comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Buzz Feed
2 hours ago
- Buzz Feed
What Living In Poverty Is Really Like
Money —specifically, how much money we make— is on a shortlist of things we were raised never to discuss with other people. Discussions about money on the internet have shed better light on the lives of the poor that society often turns a blind eye to. On the always discussion-heavy subreddit r/AskReddit, Reddit user u/ViolatingBadgers asked Redditors who have lived in poverty: What is something about poverty that people don't understand without experiencing it? The results will be quite eye-opening for some: "How it grinds people into dust. Between the malnourishment, housing insecurity, direct/secondary/generational trauma, abject exploitation by finance, poor health, environmental toxins, despair, violence; it's so f*cking crazy." "That people are very, very quick to judge. Judgmental people love to stomp on your dreams." "Feeling shame." "How expensive being poor actually is. Cheap stuff breaks faster, payday loans wreck your finances, and you can't afford to buy in bulk or take advantage of deals. You end up paying more for everything in the long run..." "They say money doesn't buy you happiness, but it sure as hell buys you freedom from a lot of stress. I've been there, I've been at the point where I was rationing out slices of bread from a supermarket brand budget loaf to see me through the week, and let me tell you, living like that is f*cking exhausting." "It's extremely embarrassing to need to return something you can't pay for at the checkout, so I used to always triple or quadruple check the prices of everything in my cart, plus taxes and a dollar or two buffer. Repeat that every single time you're getting food, and it starts to take a toll on how you perceive food. For example, trying to justify what to buy based on weight to dollar, so if something says 100g per 1$, you might be more tempted than getting a healthier, more tasty option that costs $1.50 per 100g just so you get more full for cheaper." "How much a little money can impact you. We were living on government benefits in the UK when I was a kid, as my father had died and my mother was battling cancer. She gave me £5 to go to the shop and buy a small piece of meat for dinner. I got to the shop and realised I had lost the money. When I got home and told her, the look on her face still haunts me to this day. I am pretty well off now, but every penny counts." "That buying cheap sh*t works out more expensive in the long run but because you don't have a choice, you're stuck in that cycle." "If a car breaks down, people with money tow it. Low-income people leave it, it gets ticketed, and towed. Goodbye car. Now everything is more work, shopping, and existing is harder. Money is owed to the tow companies and the city for abandoned car tickets, etc." "When people try to imagine poverty, I think they imagine having to get by on very little money — but in some ways, that's the easy part. The hard part is the stress of not knowing how you're going to make rent, expecting every knock at the door to be a debt collector, being unable to absorb any financial shock." "How psychologically f*cked up it can be. I didn't have a bed from 6th grade up until I was 26. I slept on a pallet of blankets in my room, and no one was ever allowed to come over because my mom was so ashamed that she was never able to buy me a bed. My mom hasn't had a bed either since I was 10 years old. I'm almost 30 and she still doesn't. I've offered to buy her a bed, and she won't let me do it because, in her words, 'I went without so you could have a chance, and I don't need it. I was never able to buy you one, and my life is almost over. It'd be a waste.' "Never getting to eat out or go to events, and also not having enough food." "I knew someone who turned down a $2/hour raise because it would kick all the kids off Medicaid and they'd lose food stamps. $2/hr doesn't pay for all of that." "I still struggle with food — free food means stuff yourself, take what you can home, never throw out leftovers." "You can't just put money away in savings. I think that's the biggest one. The people who have disposable income think that if we just put money in savings, it would help us out later, which it would, but poor people barely have enough to pay their bills and just live for the month." "It's not a laziness issue. It's not an issue of not investing, saving, or having enough streams of income. It's simply not enough money being allocated to you, the individual, by society. So it becomes pure, unbridled survival. I hate it when people say, 'Oh, work more hours, just work harder; you're so lazy.' Uhhh no. I'm working my g*dmn tail off, and y'all need to stop judging cuz y'all ain't been in my shoes." "Growing up in poverty traumatizes you for life on multiple levels, even if you by some miracle manage to escape it. If you can't afford doctor or dental appointments, your physical and mental health can be impacted for life. Teeth don't grow back. Unchecked chronic medical conditions take their toll. Digging yourself out (or trying to) is also traumatizing because you have to work 10x harder than somebody with parents who can provide support. You really do work 10x harder at absolutely everything, and you get tired. You're exhausted all the time. And you know the rest is not coming. You cannot afford it. Stress. Misery. Grief. My teen and young adult years were spent working and worrying instead of growing up and figuring out who I was and what brought me joy & fulfillment. I'm still at least 10 years behind on that, probably. But the lack of financial support from parents takes multiple tolls. "I've spent the last entire year spending all of my money on vehicles to get to work. All of it. I eat, sleep, work, and come home to work on a vehicle, so that I can make sure I get to work." "Understanding that people don't choose to be poor nor to stay." "Your kids know. I think many parents do their best to shield their kids from the stress of knowing. Still, I believe it's probably healthier to discuss specific financial matters with them in an age-appropriate manner, because I promise they understand more than you think. I knew why we occasionally skipped dinner and just got a Braums cone ($1.07 when I was growing up). I knew why I couldn't get a stuffed animal on the aquarium field trip, and I knew why my mom was crying at the gas station when she had to pay with pennies." "How dull it is. You're just shutting down because nothing is possible. If you're prone to depression, poverty exacerbates it badly." "There is nowhere to turn. When you're that broke, everyone you can ask for help is either broke too, or you've already asked. It's like being backed onto the edge of a cliff, always aware that one more step back brings you closer to something you may never come back from." "How hunger leaves a mark that never goes away. For a while, I could only eat three times a week. If I ate an extra portion, then I couldn't eat for two more days. F*cks your head up and never leaves, no matter life circumstances." "People in poverty usually have to do the math when it comes to working more hours or a pay raise. If you make too much, you could easily lose your food benefits, medical insurance, etc., and it's not worth it. People have lost $300+ worth of benefits by earning an additional $100." "If you have no or little credit, you pay way more for things. If you can't afford something, you get hit with overdraft or late fees. You can only afford inexpensive items, which tend to break more frequently and require money to repair or replace. You don't have the cash to invest and build wealth. You often don't have enough cash to pay for things upfront, which puts you in debt and costs you more interest money. People with no money get charged so much more." "I leave my front porch light on no matter what, so I know if the power is on or not when I get home. It was shut off constantly when I was a kid. I used to come home to that orange tag on the door, or have it shut off while I was home (I still also get tense when someone knocks on my door because of this). My electricity bill is on autopay." "Those food stamps and welfare benefits that the right keeps screaming about and trying to cut are already so small that they are absolutely insulting. I have an income of 1/3 of the poverty line on SSDI, and get a whole whopping $27 in food stamps. Nobody is getting rich off welfare. Welfare queens are a myth. Many people who receive government assistance still rely on food banks and other charities to make ends meet. To say otherwise is to perpetuate the propaganda of the right and the rich, who would just as soon have the poor die and reduce the surplus population, as Scrooge put it. The USA absolutely sh*ts on the poor, elderly, and disabled so rich assholes can buy another yacht. F*ck this country." "Regular people talking about ethics about poor people, especially crime and racism, haven't got a single clue about what goes on during a normal day around the block. If they dared to try living in the ghetto for a few years, then I'll respect whatever opinions they have about ways to address crime and poverty." "It is expensive money-wise, as others have said, but it is also expensive time-wise and mentally. A trip to get necessary groceries can take several hours, and that's after spending significant time arranging transportation (rely on public transportation and figure out how many groceries you can carry if you're even able, rely on a friend giving you a ride - are they reliable? Is their car? Do you need to pay them for gas? Splurge on Uber — look up an estimate of the cost for different times, etc., and figure out the timing to account for things out of one's control (will the ride be late, is it cutting it too close to a work shift to risk it?), etc. Everything takes so much planning to make the pieces fit; it's exhausting." "People don't get how truly stressful being poor can be. How hard it is to get out of. How easy it is to get into. Especially now. How costly it is. And how it isn't a moral failing." "When I say I've got no money, it means I literally do not have a single penny. It doesn't mean that I have a bit of money that I don't want to spend." "How generous you can be when you have just a little bit extra. Extra tips or some birthday money, and often, you spend it on someone else, such as your kid, partner, family member, or friend. When you don't have a lot of resources, when there's a little extra, it's so rare and feels so good to spend it on someone you care about." "Engaging in even just middle-class normalcy feels extremely odd. Everything feels like a luxury and, therefore, extremely uncomfortable. Not just knowing you're an outlier of what people consider to be normal, but also, it's the fact that it's so foreign and uncomfortable. You feel like an impostor and wonder why you're experiencing it in the first place. It's very odd and alienating. Sometimes, it makes you more likely to just stay home and not do anything because you're far more comfortable that way. I still don't enjoy attending events or dressing up. I'm not used to it." "I would only put $5 of gas in my tank at a time. I couldn't risk needing cash in an emergency and having $40 tied up in the gas tank. That's probably the most trivial aspect of poverty I've lived with, but it's one of those things that stick with you. When there's never enough money, you have to overthink everything." "Something as simple as a traffic ticket can completely destroy your entire life. You can't afford to pay it? Becomes a warrant for your arrest and a suspended license. The cops run your plates while doing the speed limit? Get flagged and pulled over for Driving While License Suspended. You go to jail, your car and means of getting to work are impounded at a daily rate of about $100 per day. Judge doesn't give a single f*ck that you have rent to pay and kids to feed. You probably already lost your job because you spent the weekend in the slammer with murderers. So now you're homeless because you can't make rent. " And finally, "People think the worst part is not having stuff. It's actually the constant, exhausting fear that one bad day will take away the little you do have." If you have experienced or are currently struggling with poverty, please share your experiences that people often don't understand in the comment section. Or, if you'd prefer to stay anonymous, leave a comment in the form below.
Buzz Feed
3 hours ago
- Buzz Feed
20 Things Poor People Definitely Do Better Than Rich People
Recently, Reddit user Anton_ms06 posted on the popular Ask Reddit forum to ask, "What's something that poor people do better than rich people?" and the answers were pretty cool. Here are some of the best: "Handle crises in stride." "Making the most out of very little. Creativity hits different when money's tight." "Showing compassion in times of despair because they know what it's like to have no one in your time of need." "Hot take: not penny-pinching their friends." "Handle adversity. I'm a pharmacist and I've worked in ultra-wealthy communities as well as very poor areas, and without question, it's the low-income folks that are better able to handle it when things go wrong." "Poor people are able to better appreciate a lot of things, because they have to go without them." "I work in property management and maintenance, and you would be surprised how many white-collar people can't figure out the simplest tasks like flipping a breaker, resetting a garbage disposal, or plunging a toilet." "They tend to be more creative with limited resources." "Appreciating the little wins. When you don't have much, even small things feel big." "Make a meal out of anything. My wife grew up extremely poor, but her mother always managed to put a meal on the table. It's poor people magic for sure." "A lot of really good foods people enjoy came out of necessity and cooking ingredients rich people wouldn't have touched." "I grew up poor American, and my husband grew up upper-middle-class European. I took for granted my dad knowing how to fix everything." "Using ingenuity and resourcefulness to try solving problems, instead of just immediately using money." "We make better grilled cheese sandwiches." "Vote against their best interests." "Adapt." "Sustainability, in everything. Leftovers, clothes, furniture..." "Be nice. As a bus driver, people without means are much nicer and forgiving of mistakes than people with means." "Poor people are usually more willing to help others in need even though they may be in need themselves, because we know what it's like to be without." And finally, "Cooking. To make a lot of cheap cuts good you have to know what you're doing. A filet is a seven-minute cook; same with a gorgeous salmon. If you want to make turnips and brisket good, you need to know what you're doing." So, what d'you think? Do you agree with these? Share your opinion down in the comments! Please note: some comments have been edited for length and/or clarity.
Newsweek
4 hours ago
- Newsweek
US Reopens Mexico Cattle Import Sites After Screwworm Battle
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Monday a phased reopening of livestock import sites along the Mexican border, beginning July 7 with Douglas, Arizona. Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins said the decision follows weeks of intensive collaboration with Mexican authorities to combat New World Screwworm (NWS), a devastating livestock parasite that prompted the closure of all southern border ports on May 11. Why It Matters The extended livestock port shutdown disrupted a critical trade relationship between the U.S. and Mexico, affecting ranchers and livestock operations on both sides of the border. NWS poses an existential threat to American agriculture—the parasitic fly lays eggs in open wounds of livestock, producing maggots that burrow into living flesh, causing severe injury and often death. The USDA successfully eradicated NWS from the United States in 1966, but its return would devastate the livestock industry and threaten food security. The economic stakes are substantial. A similar outbreak in Florida in 2016 required euthanizing 102 infected animals, demonstrating the pest's destructive potential even in contained situations. The current threat represents the parasite's northward march through Central America over two years, reaching Mexico in November 2024 and spreading to within 700 miles of the U.S. border. NWS has systematically moved through Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Belize and now Mexico, with cases detected in Oaxaca and Veracruz states. What To Know The reopenings span three months, with five ports gradually resuming operations. The other four are: Columbus, New Mexico, on July 14 Santa Teresa, New Mexico, on July 21 Del Rio, Texas, on August 18 Laredo, Texas, on September 15 Each reopening will be evaluated for adverse effects before proceeding to the next phase. The parasite's rapid spread through Mexico triggered the May suspension after the USDA's February attempt to resume imports with enhanced inspection protocols proved insufficient. The department's response included deploying sterile fly dispersal operations, releasing over 100 million sterile flies weekly to disrupt the pest's reproductive cycle. This sterile male technique, previously explained to Newsweek by Texas A&M Professor Phillip Kaufman, works because female screwworm flies mate only once—flooding areas with sterile males prevents successful reproduction. Five Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service teams conducted comprehensive on-site assessments in Mexico this month to evaluate containment efforts. Strict import protocols now govern the reopening. Only cattle and bison born and raised in Sonora or Chihuahua, or those treated according to specific NWS protocols, qualify for import initially. Texas ports won't reopen until Coahuila and Nuevo Leon adopt similar protocols. Equines from anywhere in Mexico can be imported but require a seven-day quarantine and compliance with equine NWS protocols. Mexico is renovating its sterile fruit fly facility in Metapa, expected to produce 60 million to 100 million sterile flies weekly by July 2026. This represents progress toward the long-term goal of producing 400 million to 500 million flies weekly to reestablish the NWS barrier at the Darién Gap. What People Are Saying Rollins, in a Monday statement: "At USDA we are focused on fighting the New World Screwworm's advancement in Mexico. These quick actions by the Trump Administration have improved the conditions to allow the phased reopening of select ports on the Southern Border to livestock trade. We are continuing our posture of increased vigilance and will not rest until we are sure this devastating pest will not harm American ranchers." Speaking previously to Newsweek, Kaufman, also head of the department of entomology at Texas A&M University, said: "To eliminate the fly, especially under a more widespread infestation, requires several complimentary approaches, including monitoring for infested wounds for larvae, using fly-specific traps, and the mass release of sterile males." He added: "The sterile male technique is crucial in this process as the female screwworm fly mates only once and by inundating the infested area with sterile males we in effect make the females lay eggs that do not hatch. As these wild females die out, the population drops, and the fly is ultimately eliminated. This takes time to accomplish but has been proven effective repeatedly." Cattle serve as the backdrop for a roundtable discussion on the New World Screwworm at the Texas A&M Beef Center in College Station, Texas, on April 29. Cattle serve as the backdrop for a roundtable discussion on the New World Screwworm at the Texas A&M Beef Center in College Station, Texas, on April 29. Meredith Seaver /College Station Eagle via AP What Happens Next The USDA will continuously monitor each port reopening for adverse effects before proceeding to the next phase. Officials reported no notable increase in NWS cases or northward movement over the past eight weeks, indicating progress in containment efforts. Additional improvements in Mexico's animal movement controls and surveillance efforts remain critical for remaining ports to reopen as scheduled.
