Part of Slice of Life by Two Writing Teachers. Head over there for information and links to more Slicing!
Dear Students,
When you see your report card and it says Comment 07: “Behaves appropriately,” will you know that what I meant is that I see how hard it is for you each day? Will you know I appreciate how you listened to my reminders, even though you wanted to roll your eyes?
When you see Comment C13: “Works well independently,” will you know that I respect your quiet way? That I wish I had sat down next to you more often?
How about Comment C05: “Positively contributes to classroom environment?” Please know that I appreciated your smile, and your kind words, and your positive leadership. Keep choosing happy as much as you can!
Comment C17: “Often requires prompting to focus and stay on task.” I don’t want to put this comment on your final report card. You and I both know that focus isn’t your strength yet. You have taken my prompting, and you have moved on. Sometimes you were annoyed at my prompting, and sometimes you took it in stride. School is hard work, thank you for bringing your best.
Comment C20: “Needs to make better use of work time.” Me too. Comment C28: “Needs to improve organization.” Don’t we all?
Your 6th grade report card will all too soon be a thing of your past, just like your 6th grade year. I want to make new comment codes for you:
I heard you.
I saw you.
I learned something from you.
Thank you.
On a Thought 
Nice. Reports I typically have to write are very detailed and take a lot of time! This is one of the reasons that our union has decided to include them in our labour dispute. We are only giving grades this term…no comments. It has saved me probably 40 hours of work, but has brought anguish to my soul. I hate reducing a child to a letter grade. Hate it.
This is awesome. This shows what a caring teacher you are. You look to relate to your students by trying to “sit in their seats” or “walk in their shoes.”
Sent from my iPhone
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“I heard you.
I saw you.
I learned something from you.”
Wouldn’t it be great if all teachers wrote these sentences on their students’ report cards? If everyone lived that and reaffirmed that for their kids, I think our ‘system’ would be much better off.