At work, I've been compiling and tracking grades of students for whom Healthy Start has provided services over the years to see if there's a measurable correlation etc. etc. and I started thinking about Hunter's future academic career.

I don't want to be one of those parents who looks at a report card of all A's and one B and ask why that B isn't an A. At the same time, I did really well in school, and I find I have expectations of Hunter doing the same. What if school just isn't his thing? How do I encourage him without equating his grades with his self-worth?

At first, I thought that I could praise his effort and concentrate on whether or not he understands the material rather than a letter grade, but it felt like an artificial way to look at a report card.

I finally realized that it's a non-issue. I was working on the assumption that the report card exists in a vacuum, and it doesn't. Since I have every intention of being involved in Hunter's education during the school year -- answering questions, talking with him about what he's learning, what he's having difficulty understanding, what new thing he found out that he thinks is really cool, what he's proud of achieving, etc. etc. -- the report card will be merely one factor in a much larger experience.

Works for me.


PS. Yesterday was the first day of school. Surrounded by kids of varying sizes, I couldn't help but think, "We're a third of the way to pre-school!" I'm very much looking forward to it, as I love watching Hunter learn and grow.