Report Card Flashbacks

I have been diligently working to sort through endless piles of paper (I think I am a paper magnet ... plus, I know I have a problem with a tendency to want to save everything).

Tonight, I cleared away one full bag of paper for Trevor's recycling contest. As I was going through old manuscripts (so many things written, so few things published ... sob, sob), old magazines, letters and inspiring articles, I came across a folder full of my old report cards. Talk about interesting reading.

I really don't know what my parents must have thought about a few of these comments.

For first grade, it appears I had a whole team of teachers working with me. My math instructor K. Rhein, had this to say in the mid-year remarks:

"Wendy is a very bright girl. She is very enthusiastic and enjoys math. She needs to work more alone instead of worrying about those around her."

My reading teacher, Jeanette Winkler, offered a favorable remark at mid-year:

"Wendy is an excellent reader. Her ability to handle many kinds of material is remarkable."

But her June comment is perplexing:

"Wendy is an excellent reader. - [good to know that hadn't suddenly changed] However, I hope that she will also enjoy participating in other activities." [Could a first grade teacher predict that I might choose to read, while eschewing other important activities, like housekeeping??? What is she getting at, I ask??]

Then there was the end of year comment from Mrs. Nork (this was the only name that rung any bells in my head):

"Wendy went through a 'slump' for a while this year. I found it very hard to reach her. In the past few weeks she has brightened up and seems to care again!... I have enjoyed having her in my class." [Even back then, I was a moody little thing.]

Somehow the 2nd Grade progress report is missing. Hmmm - a bad year, perhaps? Parents didn't want to keep it??? Or maybe it was lost in their clutter?



For third grade, I had Mrs. Ruth Rose. For the first semester, she managed to sandwich a litany of complaints between two complimentary comments:

"Wendy is a capable girl. She does not use her time wisely. [Still a problem.] She is slow in completing work or getting ready for class. She does not listen carefully. She reverts to manuscript writing at times, but her cursive writing is quite adequate. It is a pleasure [really, are you sure, Mrs. Rose???] to work with Wendy."



On to 4th Grade. Oh, Mr. Bouchard how I loved you and how I love you, still. Mr. Philip Bouchard was an innovative teacher for the time. He taught on a contract system. Every Monday, students would meet with him at his desk and determine what they could accomplish for the week. Some kids might have viewed this as license for laziness, but not me. I remember having competitions with other kids for completing SRAs and other assignments.

Here are his brief comments:

"Wendy is able to take responsibility for her education and create valuable activities that she can work on independently."

At the end of the year, he wrote:

"Wendy has a great deal of talent that I'm sure will be used in years to come."

Where are you now, Mr. Bouchard, champion of my abilities?? I know that you married the Kindergarten teacher at the end of my 4th Grade year, but then, I changed schools and moved away. Who couldn't use a champion, like that?

What is astounding is that I would have considered myself to be a shy, timid, quiet school girl, back then. Yet, here are the comments from the back of my 5th grade report card:

"Attitude has improved somewhat!"

"Wendy is really trying." [As a teacher myself, I know how some of these comments can have double meanings - yes, that girl is trying ... trying my patience, daily!]

"Outstanding work in science."

"Wendy is a fine girl, but [there's always a BUT, isn't there?!] has her own ideas as to when she should start her assignments. She needs to improve in this area."

"Wendy's P.E. attitudes and self-discipline are barely adequate [teacher's emphasis this time, not mine] - she is capable of better work." [Hmmm - wondering if that was the year I was sent to the principal's office because I was paired for dancing with a handicapped student and was so terrified that I refused to dance with him????]

Apparently the problems lingered because the P.E. teacher slung another barb in the second semester comments:

"Wendy is too social to do her best in PE - her attitudes toward instructors can improve."

In sixth grade, my family moved to Alton, Illinois. I think I had a difficult time making friends that year. I know my best friend in 7th Grade informed me that "back in 6th grade, we thought you were maybe retarded or something, because you wore dresses every day and you never swung on the bars, just stood there watching all of us."

My mother doesn't remember requiring me to wear dresses, so perhaps someone had made a comment about me being too much of a tom-boy and thus, I wore dresses every day in sixth grade and watched everyone else at recess.

I do remember doing a report on England (the birth of an anglophile, for sure) and winning the short story contest with a story about a wizard who shows up as a substitute teacher and turns one of the pupils into a submarine. I also remember that my teacher was very nice (come to think of it, perhaps this was the year of the embarrassing principal visit).

Mrs. Arger had very nice things to say, thankfully.

"Wendy is a delightful child! She is well-behaved, well-mannered and cooperative and tries to do her best at all times."

She ended the year with a sweet commendation, "May the future hold for you, the best of everything always." (Not sure she needed the comma after you, but then writing report cards has to be a tedious and troublesome task for those elementary teachers.)

I don't really remember dreading the report card comments for Bryce. For most of his elementary years, I worked there at the school and knew all of his teachers. He was a pistol, that's for sure.

With Trevor, I am a bit anxious about his report cards. He is a very bright child, but, perhaps too much like his mother (talkative, independently motivated, moody and eager to be social, despite a social awkwardness). For now, his teacher always smiles and seems pleased with him. He has never had to move his behavior card from green to yellow or red. The teacher did tell me last Friday that he offered to give her drawing lessons. Ha! Now that is my Trevor!


And now I'm off to recycle some ancient report cards. Thankfully, the comments I might want to return to are all now saved here.