What do you look for when you read your child’s report? Do you want to see their grades and where they rank within the class group? Do you look to see whether they are able to solve complex algorithms in their head or if they are brilliant at spelling? Or do you look for the general comment that usually gives you information about your child’s characteristics, attitude to learning and effort in class? What do you look for?
In the many years that I have been teaching and writing reports, parents have told me the thing they look for the most is the general comment and the amount of effort their child demonstrates in the learning environment.
As a parent myself, this is also what I look for. Does it matter to me whether my own child gets an A or an E in English and Maths? Of course it does, but what matters more is their attitude to learning and the amount of effort they put in. Grades are sometimes a reflection of hard work, but they are more consistently a reflection of who a child is. Some people are brilliant scholars with incredible academic minds and some people are creative, or sporty or fantastic in social situations. Attitude and effort, on the other hand, to me are a truer measure of success. Children that keep trying, regardless of their ability level, demonstrate a quality that is guaranteed to bring forth success later in life. Persistence. We all need it.
Our children today are growing up in a rapidly changing world, different to the one we grew up in. It’s tough out there and children who are persistent, who don’t give up or who “just keep swimming”, as Dory so beautifully said in Finding Nemo, will eventually find their success.
Grades and scores are important for teachers, as they can help us see where our students need support or further direction. But a final grade on a test or report should never define who we are. I wonder what grades some of the most successful people in history got on their report cards. I wonder also, what their teacher comments said about their effort and attitude to learning.
We look for effort and attitude but am very interested as well in score, where they sit in the class and how they cope with the work load.