THAT SCHOOL REPORT

by Goolbai Gunasekera

My school days (happily far distant) were regularly and evilly punctuated thrice a year by school reports doled out with sadistic pleasure by Principal and teachers. In a class of 25 not more than three or four actually looked forward to their school reports.

Those were not necessarily the brilliant ones. They were the steady, hard-working, dependable students who did their homework on a daily basis, who handed in essays when they were called for, whose writing was not only readable but extremely legible and eye-pleasing and whose mania for being on top of things earned them high praise.

There were too many like me – alas. Not in the top achievement lot but quite brilliant (in our own opinion at least) in two or three subjects. My own area of expertise was in English and History where the comments on my report pleased my parents no end. The rest of it was a disaster. An ‘F’ for Arithmetic and an V for Sinhala (two compulsory subjects) did not delight them.

I will pass over the sad tale of my school reports but upon reflection I really do wonder if they were helpful to anyone other than allowing the Teachers to vent spleen on students who annoyed them right through the year. I asked my mother, a well-known Principal herself, what she thought of this vexatious topic and her opinion was that reports were not only necessary but positively vital. It can be correctly deduced I was not a pupil in the school she headed.

“Properly written,” she would say, “a report tells a parent a lot.” She gave me a somewhat meaningful look. My Bishop’s College Form Teacher’s comments on my latest report bore the unkind remark, “Goolbai would do better if she was not so overconfident.” Mother was not a happy parent. I was equally unhappy over, what I felt was an unkind and unfair remark.

Asian International School gives two Reports a year. Exam students have a withdrawal test sandwiched in so that parents are kept well informed as to progress and readiness for the coming exam. The trouble lies in the comments that teachers are inclined to make nowadays.

As I get ready to sign the reports of AIS I naturally read through them. There is too much repetition of the same remark and an abundant use of cliches. When I see phrases like,” Reach for the Stars,” I cringe. I ban teachers from using comments and vague phrases that tell the parent nothing. The same can be said of reports students bring from other schools both in Sri Lanka and abroad. It seems as if teachers all over the world are resorting to one sentence comments which are repeated in every report with little variation. The different personality of each child is not even touched upon.

I have made a list of phrases used by teachers everywhere.

1. Good work. Keep it up.

2. Interacts well with her peers.

3. Needs to revise.

4. Needs to go over her work regularly.

5. Not attentive in class.

6. Is distracted.

7. Must have a study plan.

8. Is doing better.

9. Trying. (This last comment lends itself to humour when a teacher subsequently wrote ‘is very trying’.)

I must admit that comments from the better British and American Schools are really worth reading and give the reader a thumb nail sketch of the child. European countries have their own systems with which they are obviously happy, but which tells a Principal in Sri Lanka absolutely nothing. I recently read Einstein’s Report on Google and it was as uninformative as reports are today except to make clear he was not a very bright student!

How can the School Report be made more meaningful? Must already overworked teachers somehow make a psychological study of each child so that the comments are relevant and insightful? What do parents want to be told other than their child is either up to standard or not? All they want to know is WHY their child is under-performing and if the teacher’s opinion is justified.

I have a suggestion which I must seriously experiment with. Perhaps that Mid- Year Report should carry ONLY the insightful comments on work standards and character analyses. This gives the parents time to correct whatever needs correction and the space to work with their Offspring. The final Report at the end of the year should carry the grades and nothing much else unless the teacher feels some comment is needed.

This takes the pressure off the teacher who has to find suitable comments twice a year. Under this new method of Report Writing only one insightful comment needs to be given. This new idea allows him/her to be creative that one time only. In many American Universities – especially when doing a master’s degree, just a Pass/Fail grade is given. In a school this may not be a popular method however, and not suitable either. Parents need to know something more than whether the child has passed or failed.

My ‘One Report Per Year’ is just a fleeting idea and is not a scheme I have thought through too well. I want what is best for all three sides involved in a Report ….the the child, the teacher and the parents. All should learn something from a good report. My mother certainly agreed with my Form Teacher’s comments on overconfidence and subdued me – outwardly at least!

Reports can contain lots of information on non-academic affairs. For instance, proper diets can be suggested, good TV programmes likewise. Sleep habits can be questioned (especially if a child is sleepy in class). There are many areas of a child’s development that the school report can dwell upon. A teacher’s insight can be valuable indeed.

But one drawback has to be mentioned. It seems unbelievable that there exist some parents who just don’t care, the child’s reports are not read. They are never signed. Parents never attend Parents’ Day. They are uncontactable on the phone in case of emergencies. Often they are not in the island. Can we blame teachers if they feel all their work goes unappreciated by such parents?

This is a modern phenomenon. It certainly did not exist 50 to 60 years ago. Business pressures, Social pressures and an intrusive Media has made the art of writing a good report somewhat obsolete. One can but try for cooperation.

(Excerpted from The Principal Factor first published in Lanka Market Digest)