Yesterday, Katie’s teacher advised us that she would be getting a “C” in gym. I have so many issues with this, I don’t even know where to begin…
First, I’ll just come right out and say it: I was a straight A kid and I am not sure that I can handle my kids not getting As. Yeah, be all judgmental if you want but it is what it is. Things came easily for me, academically speaking, and when they didn’t, I fixed it, even as a little kid.
I’ve always been chunky, for example. And when my 9th grade PE teacher said to my mom that I was too heavy, I basically said, “Scr*w you” (of course, not to his face). I worked harder than anyone and was the best volleyball player in my gym class (subsequently made the team). I climbed the damn rope, even though I was terrified. I ran as fast as I could, practiced basketball even though it was hopeless and basically did what I could to be the best in everything (I wasn’t). At the end of the year, I was still chunky. But I had an A.
And yes, I know everyone is different and folks learn at different rates, blah, blah, blah. I’ve taken a zillion ed courses (I was supposed to be a teacher, remember?) and I *get* it when it’s other people’s kids. But not mine.
So, with that, I asked Katie about gym. She promises that she has a good attitude. She says she thinks the exercise is hard but that she “always tries, tries again.” She told me that she runs really fast and gets in the hula hoop before other people during the races. And I think she was really sincere in all of this. Or at least her belief, at any rate.
That leaves the conversation with the gym teacher. Chris tried to track him down at school but couldn’t, so I sent him an email this morning. Now, we wait. And you know that I’m awful at waiting. I just want to fix things.
Sigh.
When does this parenting stuff get easier?
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Ummm…. Grades before 3rd grade? Really? I don’t think Miss M received letter grades like this until 3rd grade, and then it was only for the functional subjects (Math, Reading, and so forth). I can’t imagine giving a little bitty kid a full-out letter grade in PE at any time, but especially not in elementary school! Wow!
My sympathies to you. If we can now get Miss M to understand that Straight C’s on her progress report as a 6th grader *is* a big deal…..
I made a bad grade in P.E. in the 8th grade because I couldn’t pass the Presidential Physical Fitness test for that grade level. But I was TINY and a year younger than everyone else, so I always thought that was kind of unfair. One of the main reasons I didn’t pass is that I couldn’t reach the bar to do the required chin-ups. Duh. I was short! So I had to use a chair and by the time she let me do that I was too worn out from trying to do enough chin-ups. Oh, well. It wasn’t the end of the world. But I do think it’s nuts to be grading little kids on P.E. Come on . . . shouldn’t they just be getting some exercise???
Grades in grade-school PE? You’ve GOT to be kidding me.
I have to agree…grades for PE in grade school…we only got O (outstanding), S (satisfactory), and U (unsatisfactory)…
I’m with everyone else on this one: grades in elementary school P.E.? What the heck?
On a related note, my middle-schooler barely got an “A” in PE because she got a “C” in “Running to the Field.” No lie.