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In Dear Mr. Henshaw, how is Leigh "the mediumest boy" in class?
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Leigh believes he is average in every way. He doesn't particularly like school, doesn't have many friends, and isn't good at sports. This is all because he thinks there's nothing special about him. He likes Star Trek, but his dad says it's for kids who haven't grown up yet. He also says Leigh has to stop reading Dear Mr. Henshaw books because they're too juvenile for him now that he's 11. This makes Leigh feel bad so he ends up writing a letter to Mr.
Leigh Botts, the protagonist of Dear Mr. Henshaw, considers himself "the mediumest boy in the class" because there is nothing really special about him, or so he thinks. He's not large like his dad and is of a medium height. He's also not in the gifted and talented program, but nor does he think he's stupid. Leigh does not particularly like soccer like everyone else in the school does.
He is not in any way compelled by school, and he writes to Mr. Henshaw: "School is OK, I guess. That’s where the kids are. The best thing about sixth grade in my new school is that if I hang in, I'll get out." His main goal related to school is just to graduate. Leigh says that what other kids notice about him are the wonderful lunches his mother makes him (some kids also steal from his lunches), and he doesn't have...
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that many friends in his new school. He stays after school and kicks around a soccer ball, but he's not asked to go over to other kids' houses. He doesn't do anything that makes him stand out at school. In short, Leigh considers himself incredibly average in every way.
When Leigh says he is "the mediumest boy in the class", he means that, in his opinion, there is nothing really special about him, nothing that makes him stand out. As far as his physical appearance is concerned, Leigh says that he is "not real big like (his) Dad". He goes on to note that "in first and second grades kids used to call (him) Leigh the Flea" because he was so small, but that he has grown since then, and now is just "sort of medium" in stature; when the class lines up according to height, he is "in the middle". Leigh also does not have any outstanding physical features, no "red hair or anything like that".
Leigh also observes that his "mediumness" goes beyond the way he looks. He says he is "just a plain boy". His school has not classified him as "Gifted and Talented", but he is "not stupid either". Leigh is not known for his athletic prowess - everybody at his school is crazy about soccer, but he himself does not care for it very much (November 20).
When Leigh writes about being "the mediumest boy in the class", he is in the sixth grade and has just started school in a new town. He is still trying to adjust to his new environment and find a place for himself, and has not yet come to an awareness of his own unique talents and interests.