Reporting Not Much Has Changed

Right now I'm at home in Chicago and staying at my parent's house as per usual. As always (this never gets old), I love taking a trip down memory lane and going through my old drawers and finding new (old) stuff in there. Diaries, pictures, collages, and report cards. Yes, report cards. This time around, I found my childhood report cards from grades K-5. I laid them out on my bed (not my childhood bed...wahhhhh) and poured over them. What surprised me most about them was that they were all handwritten. Hand-freaking-written. Yikes. Big applause to all the teachers who did report cards before computers really hit the scene. I've got mad respect for you. Even more than I had before. I think its annoying now doing it on the computer entering the grades,  typing the comments, but writing them out for each child must have been a HUGE pain in the ass. Huge.

For elementary school teachers, let's all remember that they teach the same kids all day long minus gym, art, music, and lunch. They teach the same students English, Math, Science and Social Studies. Bravo. I'll stick with my high schoolers and rotating classes thank you very much.

Anyway, as I was reading all these report cards it was so fascinating to me reading all the personal comments the teachers made about me. Many of them were the same for all grades and really spoke to my true personality as I know it to be now. I really have no recollection of how it was back then. When I think of myself back in grade school I think of many things that haven't changed about me that the teachers seemed to point out. It's amazing thinking of myself back and how I am now and how so little has actually changed about my work ethic and certain personality traits. I'm still a teachers pet (so to speak). I still get right to work and never procrastinate. And I still take a ton of pride in anything I put my name on. Obviously there is so much more that these reports cards made clear as well. Many of the same traits I had as a child stayed with me and only developed over time. I'm not talking about academic skills and knowledge but stuff like enthusiasm, conscientiousness, pride in my work, etc...  (And stuff not on the report cards about those years (my love for sweatpants. My hate for my hair. My tomboy being.))

After reading through these report cards (which by the way was kind of fun), I realized what foreshadowing it was. It's really no surprise that I went into the profession that I did and still really enjoy what I do every single day. Really, I was blown away in all the similarities to me as an elementary school student and me as a high school teacher, coach, and activities coordinator.
   
One thing that surprised me was that I never really thought of myself as outgoing. I always had a big personality but I felt that I kept it pretty contained. I feel like I really didn't totally come out of my shell until like junior year of college. Don't get me wrong, I was always loud, opinionated, and goofy, but I feel like I actually let it shine more then. I guess I finally felt comfortable enough with who I was to let it all hang out. But reading some of the comments on my report cards from way back when, it's like I could be reading stuff about me now. I also totally remembered who all my teachers were for each grade before even having to look. It truly blew my mind a little. Below are some brief excerpts from those report cards with some of my comments following.

Kindergarten
She "has been an enthusiastic contributor to all class discussions and activities."
She "has the ability to function independently when not under direct supervision."
She "follows directions well and completes her assignments neatly and accurately."
She "takes pride in producing neat and accurate assignments."
She "has a very pleasant personality and has earned the respect and friendship of her classmates."
She "is able to express her opinions and ideas very effectively."

I couldn't believe all my teacher had to say about me as a kindergartener. Seriously all I remember about that year was that I cried almost every day that my parent's dropped me off at school and that I was really awesome at using scissors. My hand-eye coordination was on point for such a young kid and I always colored in the lines and cut right on them. I always wanted to do great work and took pride in the work I turned in. I wanted the teachers to like me and use me as the good example. Total teachers pet. No shame. 

First Grade
Her "attitude toward school is excellent. She takes great pride in performing her official school duties well."
Her "excellent work is a reflection of her fine attitude and effort. It is a pleasure having her in my class. She certainly reflects fine home training."
"It has been a pleasure having [her] in my room. She assumes responsibility well, excels in the class and on the playground and is well-liked by her peers. She's helped to make my year a pleasant one."

First of all, thanks for that home-training mom and dad. You raised a real gem here (no matter what anyone else has to say about it today). Now that I was doing real work, not baby kindergarten work, I still clearly loved learning new things. I also loved that I excelled on the playground. Four square, wall ball, tag...amazingness. Geez, remember these games?!?!

Second Grade
"I hope she will continue to be to be enthusiastic in class activities."
"Mr Church (the gym teacher) reports that [she] consistently gives 100% in class. She is highly skilled and competitive in the physical education activities."
Her "skills in rhythm and steady beat are improving."

Possibly my favorite comment on all the report cards was the one from my gym teacher. It cracks me up that my teacher describes second grade me as competitive. Already. No shock there and it has only gotten worse (or better, depending on how you look at it) with age. Also, I love that my music teachers commented on my skills in rhythm and beat were improving. No wonder I can shake dat ass on the dance floor so well; I owe it all to second grade music class. 

Third Grade
"I have thoroughly enjoyed working with [her] an watching her excellent progress."
"She always displayed very conscientious attitude and her written work is always detailed and complete."
She "uses imaginative solutions in expressing her ideas."

I still am a huge perfectionist and clearly have very detailed work, as displayed on this blog. Mostly other stuff on the report card was content specific with my spelling, handwriting, info while reading a novel, and low social studies scores. Ugh, I always hated social studies. Snoozefest. So much so, I managed to get out of it in college and take something else. It really wasn't my thing. I'll stick to science. 

Fourth Grade
"Her attitude remains positive and constructive no matter what her task."
"Her eagerness is contagious in our room."
"I have found her to be very resourceful alert, and stimulating."
She "would continue to benefit from reading library books this summer. It tends to develop and strengthen her vocabulary."

Positive attitude. Eagerness. Sounds about right. Little me wanted to get the job done! Also, the whole library book thing was always an issue because I hated reading outside of school. Good thing the local library bribed us with BOOK IT. Do you guys remember that? Read books, get free pizza from Pizza Hut? Come on, you've got to remember that!! That got my little butt reading. Food is always an awesome bribery method and it certainly worked on me then... and still does today. 

Fifth Grade
"Her positive attitude and upbeat personality contributes a great deal to the class atmosphere.
She "goes to work quickly and promptly completes assigned tasks."
"We welcomed her participation in the Spirit Committee and hope she will continue to take an active part in [the school's] student government as well."
Her "writing is very creative. She expresses herself clearly and seems to have a real talent in this area.

This last quote is so fitting for this post too since I do seem to enjoy expressing myself through this blog. Whether or not its a real talent is debatable but I do like getting my thoughts, opinions, desires, fears, etc... out on this blog. It's a fantastic outlet to do so regardless if one or one hundred or one thousand people read it. 

Also, I love the part about being on the spirit committee because it is a huge part of my job now as athletic director and activities coordinator at the school I work at. Basically I help build school spirit in our building with all school holiday events, sporting events, dances, spirit weeks, etc...  It's something I really enjoy doing and building a community within a building. 

With all of this being said, I obviously couldn't put every compliment written on those report cards here. I would have run out of room. Kidding. Kidding. Kind of. Ha! But seriously, I always knew I enjoyed school, was a good student and had good report cards, but as I said before, I didn't realize how little things have changed about my work ethnic and desire to learn new things. I don't want to sound cocky or egotistical, but I do feel like these are things co-workers could say about me now if I was asked for feedback after the school year. Whether that be good or bad, it is what it is. And whether or not you enjoyed reading this and getting a little bit more a glimpse of younger me (which clearly wasn't much different), I enjoyed writing it and looking back. Way, way back.