Were you scared about school reports?

R

Rose65

Well-known Member
Location
United Kingdom
I was terrified. For some reason it really really mattered about what my teachers and parents thought. My father was strict and expected us all to do well, as if it reflected on him. He was not a pleasant man, he did whatever he pleased and could lash out unexpectedly.
I still remember how he would look at my reports and pick out faults despite the fact that I was a good student and there were lots of good things said about me. Not top of the class material but I worked hard and liked studying.
I just never really pleased him. That rankled with me for years.
 

I was a good student and usually received good grades. My father rewarded me with money or getting something I liked. However, my brother and sister did not do as well and my father would get upset with them. I suppose I did try harder as I wanted to please my father. My mother was not so critical and encouraged us to study and get better grades the next time.
 

My parents didnā€™t care how well I did in school so it didnā€™t really matter. Meanwhile our Nextdoor neighbours got things like new bikes for passing each grade. I wish my parents had cared more. Luckily, I cared so my marks were definitely above average but they could have been better. Math was a subject I hated so didnā€™t do as well as I could have. English was a subject I loved so I did well. Most subjects I did well.

I never failed a subject until high school. I left home at 16 so just skipped classes I didnā€™t like ; math being one of them. As an adult I went back to school and got my grade 13 diploma and was accepted at Ryerson University. My grades were good enough to get a scholarship
 
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I used to 'Wow' the teachers with those "How I Spent My Summer" reports every September in elementary school because my summers were never boring.

The only "problem" that I experienced in high school was over my sophomore science project - a trebuchet. It worked so well that the administration made a new rule that future projects could not launch projectiles.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
My parents didnā€™t care how well I did in school so it didnā€™t really matter. Meanwhile our Nextdoor neighbours got things like new bikes for passing each grade. I wish my parents had cared more. Luckily, I cared so my marks were definitely above average but they could have been better. Math was a subject I hated so didnā€™t do as well as I could have. English was a subject I loved so I did well. Most subjects I did well.

I never failed a subject until high school. I left home at 16 so just skipped classes I didnā€™t like ; math being one of them. As an adult I went back to school and got my grade 13 diploma and was accepted at Ryerson University. My grades were good enough to get a scholarship
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Good for you Patty. I see that Ryerson is now Metropolitan Toronto University. Their downtown Toronto campus is now much larger than you would remember it. Ryerson's TV and Radio arts program graduated many future Canadian media names in both radio and TV fields. JIM.
 
Rose65 said:
I still remember how he would look at my reports and pick out faults despite the fact that I was a good student and there were lots of good things said about me. Not top of the class material but I worked hard and liked studying.
I just never really pleased him. That rankled with me for years.
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That's really good that it rankled with you instead of causing you to internalize a view of yourself as not good enough.
 
I had a system figured out in highschool so paid more attention to my grades than my parents. I paid attention in class (when I was there) so did well on test and quizzes, where I struggled was doing homework, hated it. As long as I was pulling a passing grade I wouldn't do homework, but if my overall grade got too low I would do what homework was needed to pass the class.

I tried manipulating my entire highschool schedule and academics so I could do the least possible and still graduate.
 
terrified.. because my father would lash out with his fists, if marks weren't up to what he expected them to be... mainly in Maths...

My father was someone who left school at 14.. but despite that he was a good writer, and he had a mathematical brain... I didn't.. I struggled with maths... no calculators allowed in class back then, like they did when my daughter was at school... however I struggled and would only ever come close to a 50 % mark..not good eough for him.. so always a beating on report card night.. I used to hide it for as long as I could until eventually I had to show it...

didn't matter that I passed every other subject with at least 75 % and 2 exceptionally well..Social Studies and Business economics... with 90 % passes ... the fact I couldn't do as well in Maths got him enraged
 
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I was pretty naive as a child. Even though I always received good grades in primary school, I was greatly surprised when my final report card of the year said "passed to (next) grade." I would excitedly ask my friends if they passed too. I guess I must have thought there was some unknown reason as to having successfully passed, not just getting good grades! As I said, naive.
 
hollydolly said:
terrified.. because my father would lash out with his fists, if marks weren't up to what he expected them to be... mainly in Maths...

My father was someone who let school at 14.. but despite that he was a good writer, and he had a mathematical brain... I didn't.. I struggled with maths... no calculators allowed in class back then, like they did when my daughter was at school... however I struggled and would only ever come close to a 50 % mark..not good eough for him.. so always a beating on report card night.. I used to hide it for as long as I could until eventually I had to show it...

didn't matter that I passed every other subject with at least 75 % and 2 exceptionally well..Social Studies and Business economics... with 90 % passes ... the fact I couldn't do as well in Maths got him enraged
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That is simply heartbreaking.
 
Not sure how, but Math seemed to come easy for me so made that my 'Saving' course.
My dad was so impressed with my marks in math, that I could slide on other, lower marks.
One of my early teachers told me, 'Math is the language of Science' and I found structure
in the concepts.

(It also helped being the middle kid, so I could become invisible, if I did enough to not get
noticed.)
 
I got in trouble for being in Religious Ed and Ethics. It was a choice but you could not leave the building. So I hang around and got the talk as nobody noticed it prior to graduation.
All this excitement about report cards is humbug. Nobody cares after it is done and over.
 
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Aunt Bea said:
Life got tougher after graduation, I really had a bit of a struggle because I never learned to study and work for good grades.
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I think there is a real issue there.

Decent students don't get a lot of attention. When a great teacher tries to keep them challenged it can come off as a punishment, being held to a higher standard than peers. Sadly there isn't much help available to get them to understand the facts of academic life. Teachers walk a line trying to avoid anything that might be seen as stigmatizing mediocrity.
 
Straight A student...until I discovered girls.

I always did well with history. So-so with any mathematics. Gym and art were always an easy A.

I also did fairly well with creative writing, but ironically, struggle with grammar. Dangling participles, who or whom, prepositions, etc. I never grasped it.

One scam I worked was taking Home Economics, Poetry, and Ceramics. All the guys laughed at me for taking 'girl classes'.

That's right... me and 30 girls in a classroom. How foolish. LOL.
 
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