ImPerceptibility

When I was in grade school my grades varied. It depended on my mood and if I thought the teacher was teaching something worth learning. I wasn’t a bad kid. I just did my own thing. I think it had something to do with spending my early years running around half naked and barefoot. I’m very sure it had something to do with being allowed/expected to figure things out for myself. I can still hear my dad asking me “Well, what are you going to do about it?” when I came to him complaining about a problem.

“Dad! There’s a bug on my swing!”

“Well, what are you going to do about it?”

“I need a jar and a stick. And it’s really big so you need to hold the jar.”

Yet, as inconsistent as my grades were, one thing was constant. “ImPerceptible talks too much.” That was written on every report card I brought home. Except for my fourth grade report cards. The teacher was a little more understanding. She wrote, “ImPerceptible is very socially oriented” I was very happy when I read that even though I didn’t know what it meant. I was kinda sad when I was told it meant I talked too much. I suppose I finally got the message. My eight grade teacher once told me that I had a lot of good ideas but she wished I wouldn’t be so hesitant to share them with the class. I just stood there, shuffled my feet and stared at her.

Hmmmm.

And that’s why I always sneer at my oldest’s grade reports when she brings them home. You’d think after all these years and all the research that has been done teachers would have better sense than to put something like that on a report card. The worst part is, not only can they put it on a report card, it is an option they can check. They don’t even have to take the time to write it! Even though it’s never been checked on my oldest’s report card I still resist the urge to take a black marker and mark that off before I send it back to school.

But this report card was different. It made me smile.

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