Friday, August 22, 2008

From One Generation to the Next


When reading teacher comments on a report card it is important to be aware of every message the teacher is trying to send. Most teachers are polite in their approach and many underlying messages may not be uncovered at first glance. As the years went by, I began to realize there was a common statement being made in my report cards. The comments usually went something like this..."Jill is a bright girl and has many friends. Her talkative nature is appreciated... most of the time." Or one that went something like this..."Jill has many friends. She seems to do well socially, however, may have difficulty not socializing during class." And this is by far the most straightforward comment..."If Jill would just apply the same amount of effort to her school work as she does her socializing...". Clearly this teacher did not recognize my pure talent (which I realize would be a much more powerful statement had I turned out to be famous or something). The above examples, in case you are somewhat unsure, are teacher's code for "Tell you daughter to zip it!".

Anyway, all of this is funny because Maddie came home her second day of school and said, "Today was great but my teacher gave me a check on the board because I was talking during class." I replied, "Maddie it is important that you pay attention and let the other kids pay attention during class." She told me that she tried but she just haaaaad to tell her friend something. "And it was just killin' me mom", she said. So I'm thinking Maddie's report card will start something like this..."Maddie is an outgoing girl who seems to like school.....and talking."

8 comments:

Melanie said...

On my kindergarten report card my teacher said I was a "social butterfly." While I thought that was great, my parents weren't too fond of it.

Kara said...

That is classic. It is like Jill 2.0. So cute!

Erin said...

Oh man, this is so funny. Maddie cracks me up--I can imagine what she does to her classmates. :)

DeLana said...

This seems strangely familiar to me. Seems like you were reading my report card. I have also had that conversation with Sidnee and Raven's teachers. "If she would just put as much energy into her work as she does her friends....." Well you know the rest. Maddie's teacher must admire that zest for life, after all it is contagious!

ali said...

life is all about focusing on our strengths, and communication is very important!

Juli said...

I'm SO glad you and Maddie are the way you are! You make up for those of us who are, sadly, a little more stick-in-the-muddish (and who pass it on to our kids).
Just the same, I think I'm going to go re-read Nata & Braden's report cards to search for hidden meanings...

Laurel said...

HEY...many a brilliant, good-natured, out-to-save-the-world women had that on their report card at one time.

I'm just saying...
(grin)

Adam and Bri said...

Oh how I love this post. I can just picture Maddie telling you that "it was just killing her to hold it in!"

Too darn cute.