Nothing is worse than when one person ruins something for everyone in the group. Whether it’s a sibling’s bad behavior that causes a canceled outing or a classmate’s outburst that lands everyone in detention, it’s just plain bitter to be punished for something that someone else did.
This little girl didn’t just take a punishment quietly, though—and her reaction to a teacher’s decision to get everyone in trouble for the actions of one or a few went viral online for its sheer honesty and hilarity.
Ava Morrison Bell is 11 years old, and she goes to school in the United Kingdom.
As her dad shared with the world on Twitter, though, she doesn’t always agree with everything that goes on in the classroom—especially when it comes to getting in trouble for something that she didn’t do.
Her father, thriller writer Mason Cross, posted a photo of a note she wrote offering a suggestion on how her teacher might improve. Needless to say, she’s got a long memory for a perceived injustice.
“My daughter actually submitted this feedback at school,” Cross wrote. “Not sure if I should ground her or buy her ice cream ...”
The note explained that Ava found it unfair for the teacher to dole out punishments to everyone when there were only a few people in the guilty party.
Under “things my teacher can do better,” Ava wrote “Not use collective punishment as it is not fair on the many people who did nothing.”
Of course, the daughter of a well-read author knows how to articulate her point—so she didn’t stop there.
“And,” she added, “under the 1949 Geneva Convention it is a war crime.”
For those not so well-versed in modern world history as this young lady, the Geneva Convention specifically handles the treatment of civilians and prisoners of war during combat. It established a universal set of laws to help protect those who are not involved in the fighting.
Theoretically, Ava has it right, although comparing a classroom to a war zone is a bold move on the young girl’s part.
In any case, the people of Twitter got a good kick out of it, with 156,000 users retweeting the hilarious post and another 514,000 liking it. They were so enamored by it, in fact, that the majority of respondents on the post were all too encouraging of giving Ava a nice reward for her honesty.
In the end, it looks like Ava got her ice cream from Dad, too.
