(CNN) An unusual request at the end of a student's exam was quickly shared by thousands, thanks to a Kentucky teacher's Facebook post.

Winston Lee, a teacher at Letcher County Central High School, was picking up exams about World War II in his 11th-grade history class when he noticed an asterisk with a small note toward the bottom of one exam.

It read, "If you could, can you give my bonus points to whoever scores the lowest?"

Lee said he was "taken aback" by his student's request, especially when most are clinging to every extra point they can get to boost their grades.

"He wanted to give up what he had earned so blindly," said Lee. "I took it as a really compassionate, loving and kind act from a young person that most people would consider rare."

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