Report Card Day
Wednesday was report card day for my kids. And today were parent-teacher conferences for us.
When I was in Elementary school, I remember report card days as some of the best days of the year. I always got all A's (maybe due more to the mediocre school system I attended than any diligence on my part) and I was always rewarded. Five bucks from grandma. A trip to grandma's to pick up my five bucks from my parents. I was always excited to get my report card and never anxious. At least not until high school geometry came along.
But I always get a little anxious when my kids get their report cards. There is always something. They're great kids with great spirits. They are both bright and engaging, but they aren't perfect. And to me these report card/evaluation times always feel like a time to highlight our faults as parents. Or to be more honest, they highlight to me my faults as a mother.
That's not to say that my kids' teachers make me feel this way. The exact opposite is true. My self doubt is all self imposed. I know it. I can say it over and over again. I never claim my kids' successes as my own. So why do I claim their failures?
Perhaps I am especially sensitive right now. Because we are applying to private schools in a new part of the country, my children have been objectively and subjectively evaluated more closely than ever.
Reading or hearing about the wonderful recommendations my kids' teachers sent the new school is heartwarming. Having some admissions director I've barely met tell me that my son is hard to understand and my daughter is mediocre at math stings more than a little. This whole process is gut wrenching.
But these evaluations at report card time always yield a few surprising gems. Amazingly, my daughter doesn't appear to be immature anymore. She no longer cries at the drop of a hat. And my son? Apparently, he is quite the singer. I seriously had no idea. Sure I've heard him sing here and there, but I had no idea that he has a "lovely" voice. Don't all six-year-olds sound the same?
One of the challenges of being a military family is moving the children from one school system to another. It feels like they need to prove themselves all over again. But moving can be an opportunity too. We're all starting fresh, the kids included.
Who knows what the next year of report cards will bring.
When I was in Elementary school, I remember report card days as some of the best days of the year. I always got all A's (maybe due more to the mediocre school system I attended than any diligence on my part) and I was always rewarded. Five bucks from grandma. A trip to grandma's to pick up my five bucks from my parents. I was always excited to get my report card and never anxious. At least not until high school geometry came along.
But I always get a little anxious when my kids get their report cards. There is always something. They're great kids with great spirits. They are both bright and engaging, but they aren't perfect. And to me these report card/evaluation times always feel like a time to highlight our faults as parents. Or to be more honest, they highlight to me my faults as a mother.
That's not to say that my kids' teachers make me feel this way. The exact opposite is true. My self doubt is all self imposed. I know it. I can say it over and over again. I never claim my kids' successes as my own. So why do I claim their failures?
Perhaps I am especially sensitive right now. Because we are applying to private schools in a new part of the country, my children have been objectively and subjectively evaluated more closely than ever.
Reading or hearing about the wonderful recommendations my kids' teachers sent the new school is heartwarming. Having some admissions director I've barely met tell me that my son is hard to understand and my daughter is mediocre at math stings more than a little. This whole process is gut wrenching.
But these evaluations at report card time always yield a few surprising gems. Amazingly, my daughter doesn't appear to be immature anymore. She no longer cries at the drop of a hat. And my son? Apparently, he is quite the singer. I seriously had no idea. Sure I've heard him sing here and there, but I had no idea that he has a "lovely" voice. Don't all six-year-olds sound the same?
One of the challenges of being a military family is moving the children from one school system to another. It feels like they need to prove themselves all over again. But moving can be an opportunity too. We're all starting fresh, the kids included.
Who knows what the next year of report cards will bring.
Labels: "my childhood", family, kids, military, moving, parenting, school, Southfield
posted by Major Mom at 1:47 PM
Karen is a military wife and stay-at-home mother to a seven-year-old daughter and a five-year-old son. A Boston native who’s lived in the Shreveport-Bossier area for eight years, she spends most of her time volunteering at her kids’ school, supporting her husband, playing with her friends and watching her hair turn gray. In between, she writes about her life here on her blog.
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