Oct. 21, 2009 - Report Cards
Beth is in kindergarten this year, and I do not grade any of her work or give her a report card. She is, however, taking ice skating lessons from the local park district, and they get a "report card" every four weeks. She has enjoyed the first seven weeks of lessons. Last week she told me she wanted to sign up for more lessons when this session was finished. Today she told me she changed her mind. I asked her if something happened during today's lesson to make her sad, and she said that she always slowed down when she tried to glide, and she was afraid her report card would say "needs improvement."
I had really hoped to avoid the whole concept of report cards for a lot longer. I really don't want Beth or Matthew or Nathan to have the same hang-up with grades on a report card that I did growing up. I worked hard to get a good grade, but missed out on real learning. I quit when things got hard or when I was afraid I would not get a good grade. I want the kids to not have that fear. I want Beth to be able to continue to ice skate because it is fun, no matter what a piece of paper says.
I tried to explain to Beth that everyone has areas in which they need improvement. That's part of life. I told her that if I was giving Nathan a report card and one of the categories was walking, I would have to check the box saying "needs improvement." I asked her what grade she thought I would get on a report card in the area of house cleaning. Definitely "needs improvement." But that doesn't mean that Nathan won't learn to walk in his own time. It doesn't mean that I am going to totally give up on cleaning the house. And it doesn't mean that Beth will never learn to glide. It just means that at this moment in time, we are not there yet.
I hope she gets it. I hope she doesn't quit. I hope that on her report card of life, in the category of sticking with worthwhile things even when they are hard, Beth gets a check in the box saying "complete."
