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Lucas Ayala's persuasive letter to his teacher

Article Discussion Report error Saturday, June 18, 2011 Reported on Bulbanews by Adyniz

This opinion piece has been written by Adyniz. It expresses the views of the writer, not necessarily those of Bulbagarden networks.

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Lucas Ayala

Lucas Ayala's letter

As we said earlier, Pokémon is not just about the anime or game but it is educational as well. And few days ago, a third-grader and a nine-year-old boy named Lucas Ayala proved it.

The nine-year-old boy named Lucas Ayala who lives in Woodside, Queens made his teacher realize that Pokémon is educational. Queens school banned the Pokémon Trading Card Game for their students which made this third-grader angry and left no choice for him but to write a letter to his teacher, Jennifer Toti.

Surprisingly, it inspired his teacher greatly and changed the school authority's vision towards Lucas's favorite card game and made them believe that Pokémon is not just about the game but it is educational as well.



The reply that Lucas got

In the letter, Lucas Ayala explained to his teacher that Pokémon Trading Card Game—which features a deck of 60 cards and dice—taught him about mathematical calculations including addition, subtraction and multiplication. Upon further explanation, he suggested that it could also be used in Mathematics classes in the school.

To further support his request, he cheekily signed off his letter by saying:

「Even if you can't, you are still a great teacher!」

The letter was well-applauded by the entire school authority and staff members. After reading the letter, Jennifer Toti's response was:

「It made me laugh. We teach the students they can use words for good, and if you use them the right way, you can change the world. He applied that to something that was important to him.」

Queens school's assistant principal Dr. Richard Welles said:

「I knew nothing about Pokémon. But I did some research and it confirmed what Lucas said. There's a great deal that's mathematical about it ... so I wrote to the staff saying that we can, under certain circumstances, promote it.」

During the recess time and in some Mathematics classes, the ban on Pokémon Trading Card Game was lifted at the elementary school. All thanks to Lucas's well-crafted, handwritten argument which also turned Lucas into a mini-star among students.