Report Card

[Lightning Rod]

the report card is the bottom line for a student
it is who you are in black and white
if you are an A student, you hang with the A students
the indoctrination begins early
this little card tells you who you are

on my primary school report card
there was a little section with check boxes
these weren't grades for subjects like math or English
these were assessments of social and study skills

there were categories like: Using time to best advantage
of course this translates in realspeak to: Doing what I want you to do

there was: Working well with others.......

which was in the same list as: Leadership

and neatness was in the same list as creativity

then we had:
completing tasks
class participation
good citizenship
neatness
punctuality

a complete personal definition in checks and exes
an identity in categories

I always got an X in 'going for this bullshit'

where were your checks and exes?

[Arcadia]

I did almost all my elementary and what you call High School during the dictadura times here. But I don´t remember evaluation of attitude-aspects in the libretas. Maybe they considered it just a sutileza...! but we had unique concept for behaviour. I guess mine was good or fair good. In High School there were some kind of discipline book, where you had to sign if you did something not appropiate for the State School normas. If you reached 3 signs you summed an amonestation and if you reached a number (not remember how much) amonestations you had a suspension or you had to change school. I only sign that book few times for not having the complete uniform. And I had an (oral) observation about the way I talked to the directora in a middle of a conflict for inapropiate conditions in our classrooms (she was a bitch and the Students Centers were prohibited)

In today´s school as a teacher I have to evaluate the following aspectos in the kid´s libretas (rough translation). Creativity is not explicit considered in the list (maybe they have to be creative to fullfill what follows and still be creative, who knows!!!!! )

. Responsability in study and school work
. Able to work in group
. Shows attitudes of solidarity and colaboration
. Respect for the normas of convivencia