Big Kids

A school report card is raising plenty of eyebrows and we’re slightly confused

A school in Long Island has come under fire for sending out their school report card, which offers to alter students’ grades.

The report card gives the student's parents the truthful grades, whereby they can get a sense of how their child is really doing academically.

However, it also offers an alternative report with higher grades, which they can then share with their child. 

While we understand that the alteration acts as a way for the school not to discourage children and keep their confidence intact, the real question is; is it OK to lie to them?

If parents take the option to alter the grades, is this not creating a false sense of capabilities for their children?

What will happen to their kids when they sit their state exams for entry into college or university?

The offer was a genuine concern for the school, and we are by no means indicating they are wrong to offer it as a service, but we would be lying if we said we are OK with the idea ourselves.

To us, it seems to be a case of confidence versus expectation. Is it any harm to allow our children be confident in their own expectation and abilities?

We personally do not see the harm in allowing our children know what their grades really are, be them on the tougher end of the scale or not.

But at the same time, we would like to think we can encourage them to do better, try harder, or simply we can assess their educational needs, and possibly avail of additional help for our children if that is what they require.  

We would like our children to know that regardless of their grades, we know that they will be the best version of themselves, because at the end of the day, are grades really the be all and end all?

Richard Branson or Simon Cowell might have a few things to say about that…

Are we being OTT? What do you think about this, is it good for confidence or bad for expectations?

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