Well, it's not SO bad

Report card time has come and went. My older child, my son, has struggled this year with the additional responsibilties of middle school. It's not been an easy time at all. I can't blame fifth grade. As a former sixth grade teacher, no fifth grade experience is preparation for sixth grade. It's really up to the parents. Is your child using his or her planner? Are you checking it? Are you holding him or her accountable for writing things down? Realistically, very few (if any) fifth grade teacher can do this as well as a parent. It takes home support to put those skills into place. Time management includes using an agenda reguarly and breaking large tasks into smaller pieces with deadlines. Sometimes the fifth grade teacher can do it. But not always. It always falls to the parent, and it's the way it is.

I can't blame the sixth grade teacher either. Excellent to good, teachers are juggling a lot of ideas and responsibilities. Children need to commit to the effort, too.

It's my son. He has a "good report card".  He says, Mom, it's not SO bad. I have all Ss in behavior, and only two Ds. Well, I say, Son, that's okay... I blink. Hmm. What are you going to do about those Ds? Well, I can always get better, he says very sincerely.

That's right. You can only go up. Somehow, this answer satisfies me, and I leave it at that.