JBR
Senior Member
Because I knew kids during primary grades who had not done well and were therefore kept back a year, I imagined that could happen to me. I got over that irrational dread by about age eight, because I'd been receiving good marks. So at that point, I think I was no longer terrified.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.
My mother was a broad-minded, sympathetic person who was interested in many things. I was independent in my studies, but my mother was open to helping me if I asked about something I thought she'd know about.
My father was more like yours, Rose65, sort of authoritarian, quick tempered... started both me and my brother off with plenty of physical punishment. Given how he was, I didn't like handing him my report. But in actuality, he'd briefly scrutinize it and, if some mark fell to a C, he'd just mutter "bring it up".