As a parent, how would you take this comment?

[Sabine]

I''m trying to write a commendation for a student in my class. It is an honors class, and she has an 88%, which is lower than a lot of the students, but she is cooperative, she participates more than other students, and she thinks about things in a new way and is willing to share her ideas whether they are right or wrong. This is what I wrote, I just want to make sure a parent would not take it the wrong way:

"L may not have the highest grade in the class, but she is willing to share her ideas and often thinks about the classwork in a creative and innovative way. I really appreciate her willingness to participate. It has been a pleasure having her in class."

I could just take the first line out, but I thought the parents might find it odd for a student with her grade to get a commendation. What do you think?

 

[Maisie]

I think it would sound better without the first comment. The parents probably already know their child doesn''t get great grades but reading your classroom observations will reassure them that the child is trying their hardest to join in and contribute.

 

[lucyandroger]

I agree that I would take the first comment out. Instead you could provide some constructive criticism for how the student might increase her grade.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Take it out. As a mom who takes everything the wrong way, the comment would upset me especially as the opening to the commendation

. Sounds like the student IS a great one even though her grade isn't perfect. . .and 88% isn't all that bad, is it?

 

[violet3]

Date: 4/29/2009 12:06:24 PM
Author: Maisie
I think it would sound better without the first comment. The parents probably already know their child doesn''t get great grades but reading your classroom observations will reassure them that the child is trying their hardest to join in and contribute.

Ditto to this. I might say something about the grade if it was bad, but an 88% is a B (right?) which is above average, as i understand it. I love the rest of it though.

 

[VRBeauty]

Lead with the innovative and creative thought process...

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Huh. Actually, what strikes me is that your struggle to find a "nice" way to say the truth is making you seem tender-footed and almost apologetic. It reads like you are not convinced yourself that she, a student with a lower grade, deserves praise-- which is the opposite of your thinking, yes? If so, the current phrasing takes away from the student''s achievement (namely, that her contributions are so wonderful and atypical in the situation that you felt it should be celebrated with a written commendation). It would be strengthened by a more forthright tone brought about by a simple change:

"L DOES not have the highest grade in the class, but she is willing to share her ideas and often thinks about the classwork in a creative and innovative way. I really appreciate her willingness to participate. It has been a pleasure having her in class."




(As a tweak to think about, does changing the second sentence to, "Her participation and contributions to class discussions are exemplary," fit more closely with the goals of letting the parents know of their daughter''s strengths and reaffirming the student''s achievements because her scores on written tests are only part of the bigger picture?)

 

[tlh]

I''d use the but rule... whenever you see the word "but" you are negating everything you said beforehand, therefore, you really needn''t say what preceeded that word.

 

[Sabine]

I see what you all are saying, but I feel I do need to keep something in because in this class, an 88 is not great (it''s soooo relative to the class, but hers is actually one of the lowest scores overall), and with the competition our students will be facing for the few spots our students get to good schools, etc., I don''t want to give the impression that she should be complacent with her 88.

Fleur, I really like your revisions and I think I will go with something like that.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[D&T]

Date: 4/29/2009 12:01:49 PM
Author:Sabine
I''m trying to write a commendation for a student in my class. It is an honors class, and she has an 88%, which is lower than a lot of the students, but she is cooperative, she participates more than other students, and she thinks about things in a new way and is willing to share her ideas whether they are right or wrong. This is what I wrote, I just want to make sure a parent would not take it the wrong way:

''L may not have the highest grade in the class, but she is willing to share her ideas and often thinks about the classwork in a creative and innovative way. I really appreciate her willingness to participate. It has been a pleasure having her in class.''

I could just take the first line out, but I thought the parents might find it odd for a student with her grade to get a commendation. What do you think?

This part bothers me, not sure how to change it though, as I don''t necessarily care if my child has the highest grade in the class. just want to make sure they are in satisfactory grade points... and doing the best that they can?

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 4/29/2009 12:01:49 PM
Author:Sabine
I''m trying to write a commendation for a student in my class. It is an honors class, and she has an 88%, which is lower than a lot of the students, but she is cooperative, she participates more than other students, and she thinks about things in a new way and is willing to share her ideas whether they are right or wrong. This is what I wrote, I just want to make sure a parent would not take it the wrong way:


''L may not have the highest grade in the class, but she is willing to share her ideas and often thinks about the classwork in a creative and innovative way. I really appreciate her willingness to participate. It has been a pleasure having her in class.''


I could just take the first line out, but I thought the parents might find it odd for a student with her grade to get a commendation. What do you think?

Maybe put the negative comment in the center.
''L is willing to share her ideas and often thinks about the classwork in a creative and innovative way. She may not have the highest grade in the class, but I really appreciate her willingness to participate. It has been a pleasure having her in class.''

 

[Shoopy]

Date: 4/29/2009 1:03:10 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring


Maybe put the negative comment in the center.
''L is willing to share her ideas and often thinks about the classwork in a creative and innovative way. She may not have the highest grade in the class, but I really appreciate her willingness to participate. It has been a pleasure having her in class.''

I was going to suggest the sandwich approach: compliment, area of improvement, compliment.

I would say ''L is willing to share her ideas and often thinks about the classwork in a creative and innovative way. Although she does not have the highest grade in the class, her willingness to participate exceeds expectations. It has been a pleasure having her in class.''

 

[LadyBlue]

Date: 4/29/2009 1:03:10 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring

Date: 4/29/2009 12:01:49 PM

Author:Sabine

I''m trying to write a commendation for a student in my class. It is an honors class, and she has an 88%, which is lower than a lot of the students, but she is cooperative, she participates more than other students, and she thinks about things in a new way and is willing to share her ideas whether they are right or wrong. This is what I wrote, I just want to make sure a parent would not take it the wrong way:



''L may not have the highest grade in the class, but she is willing to share her ideas and often thinks about the classwork in a creative and innovative way. I really appreciate her willingness to participate. It has been a pleasure having her in class.''



I could just take the first line out, but I thought the parents might find it odd for a student with her grade to get a commendation. What do you think?

Maybe put the negative comment in the center.

''L is willing to share her ideas and often thinks about the classwork in a creative and innovative way. She may not have the highest grade in the class, but I really appreciate her willingness to participate. It has been a pleasure having her in class.''

I like your idea Tacori

 

[Camille]

Being in a honors /acelerated class is not easy for most kids. ANYTHING negative coming from you may affect the way the parent/child feels about you, kids tend to shut down and stop participating. Her parents know the scores, no need to remind them.

 

[jet2ks]

The former teacher in me says--Never, ever compare one student''s grade to another, even if you aren''t giving specific scores. By stating that "doesn''t have the highest grade in the class", that can be seen as comparing one child to someone else and can easily be misconstrued by parents or the student. Let L''s grade and participation stand on its own merit.

L is a pleasure to have in class. She is very willing to share her ideas and is very creative and innovative in her approach to classwork. The one thing that would most help her in the future is to _________________ (fill in the blank with whatever is keeping her grade down)

Isn''t a sad commentary when we see a B as a "poor" grade. It shows above average comprehension and in an HONORS class, no less.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Do the parents know that 88 is one of the lowest scores in the class? Not knowing anything else about the class, I too would assume that 88 is B+ and above average. Just curious how the parents would otherwise know that it's a low grade for the class. This would come up in parent-teacher conferences, I guess?

 

[simplysplendid]

Take out the first line, Sabine. Parents or not, it does seems that the positive is negated with the first line to anyone reading it.

 

[babysteps]

Agree, I would take it out - I would focus on what your emphasis is - "L stands out among her peers as she is willing etc. etc. etc." Grades are grades, I assume they get reported elsewhere - I think a commendation should be the rest of the story - grades never tell the whole.

ETA: spelling corrections, I am up with insomnia and am typing poorly!

 

[Sabine]

Thanks all, I ended up starting with the positive, and changing the grade comment to something like, although her grade could be brought up if she paid more attention to the specific requirements of assignments, so that she and parents would know what she could do to improve, and then ended on another positive.

 

[lyra]

I'm blown away by the fact that 88% is not a good mark, but our report cards are different here. They have the class info printed on as to what is the class avg. and a graph displaying each assignment and what mark your student received, plus a space for comments. All very analytical, and obviously not much to argue about, all the information is right there. Actually, it makes it easier for the parent to have a dialogue with their child, and ask why their mark is lower, or obviously commend them if it is higher than class average. They also print out how far above/below class avg. (%) your child's mark is for each class. This must make it somewhat easier on the teacher.

 

[DiamondFlame]

Her attitude is an A+ grade to me even if her academic scores aren't. I don't think her positive attitude leaves room for complacency. Instead you shd state your belief that she is truly capable of achieving much more. Nothing is gained by negativity; I'd stay on the positive side.

 

[crown1]

Date: 4/29/2009 1:16:43 PM
Author: jet2ks
The former teacher in me says--Never, ever compare one student''s grade to another, even if you aren''t giving specific scores. By stating that ''doesn''t have the highest grade in the class'', that can be seen as comparing one child to someone else and can easily be misconstrued by parents or the student. Let L''s grade and participation stand on its own merit.


L is a pleasure to have in class. She is very willing to share her ideas and is very creative and innovative in her approach to classwork. The one thing that would most help her in the future is to _________________ (fill in the blank with whatever is keeping her grade down)


Isn''t a sad commentary when we see a B as a ''poor'' grade. It shows above average comprehension and in an HONORS class, no less.

i think this is the way to go.

 

[mrscushion]

Date: 4/29/2009 12:30:59 PM
Author: fleur-de-lis
'(As a tweak to think about, does changing the second sentence to, 'Her participation and contributions to class discussions are exemplary,' fit more closely with the goals of letting the parents know of their daughter's strengths and reaffirming the student's achievements because her scores on written tests are only part of the bigger picture?)

I agree with fleur-de-lis's suggestion to strengthen the positive parts, and I also agree with the sandwiching (positive-negative-positive) suggestions.

 

[Haven]

Students in my honors classes would *kill* for an 88%.

I''m not sure if it''s the norm for a lot of students to earn As in classes at your school, but if not, her parents may not even be aware that a high B is a "low" grade. If the purpose of this is to commend the student, I''d take it out. I''m sure you''ve already been in close contact with the family, anyway, if she''s earning a relatively low grade in the class, right? So no need to mention it now.

If the purpose of this is to give feedback, positive or negative, then I''d include specific details about her performance in class that have earned her that grade.

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 4/29/2009 3:11:38 PM
Author: Sabine
Thanks all, I ended up starting with the positive, and changing the grade comment to something like, although her grade could be brought up if she paid more attention to the specific requirements of assignments, so that she and parents would know what she could do to improve, and then ended on another positive.

Great modification ... I was struggling with a way to encourage her *potential* for higher grades, but by the time I read further, you''d already found the perfect way! Much more specific & achieves the message you want to send w/o risk of complacency or misunderstanding. Bravo!

 

[bee*]

Date: 4/29/2009 5:37:55 PM
Author: decodelighted

Date: 4/29/2009 3:11:38 PM

Author: Sabine

Thanks all, I ended up starting with the positive, and changing the grade comment to something like, although her grade could be brought up if she paid more attention to the specific requirements of assignments, so that she and parents would know what she could do to improve, and then ended on another positive.

Great modification ... I was struggling with a way to encourage her *potential* for higher grades, but by the time I read further, you''d already found the perfect way! Much more specific & achieves the message you want to send w/o risk of complacency or misunderstanding. Bravo!

Yeah I agree. The way you phrased it in the end is perfect.