Report Card Dread

I've never really been worried about getting Girl's report cards.  She gets steady, solid Bs and the comments are usually positive.  She doesn't work up to her potential but she still manages to do okay. 

But this term I was dreading receiving Boy's report card.  I wasn't going to be surprised because I did know what was coming, but to see the Cs and Ds right there in black and white was still sad and disheartening.  The Learning Skills section of the report was not very good either:

Independent Work - Needs Improvement

Use of Information - Needs Improvement

Class Participation - Needs Improvement

Problem Solving - Needs Improvement

Well, isn't that nice.  He did get an Excellent in Homework Completion but I take credit for that.

Reading some of the comments made my heard hurt.  I don't know why they have to be so confusing and bullshitish.  "With limited accuracy, Boy reads and demonstrates an understanding of a few different types of literacy texts."  Does that mean he can read or not?

"With some accuracy, Boy reads, represents, compares and orders numbers using concrete materials."  Which is better, some accuracy or limited accuracy?  And then we have "limited appropriateness" and "some appropiateness".  What does that mean?

So Himself and I went to another interview.  This time the chairs were a reasonable size.  We met Mrs. Permanent English, who had wandered back to work after a 14 month maternity leave (nice work if you can get it).  She'd only been back for 4 weeks and hadn't written the report, so I wasn't too concerned with what she had to say.  But she started right in by asking if Boy puts his stuff away at home because in her class he just throws his coat into the cupboard.  I reached across the table and punched her in the head lied and said, "Oh yes, he's very careful with his belongings and always puts his things away."  Then Mme. Francais started in about how Boy doesn't pay attention at carpet and she's always having to tell him to turn around, look at the front.  I said   Well the telepathic messages I send him all day long telling him to behave sometimes get lost in transmission.  "Oh dear, that is unfortunate."   What am I supposed to do with that?  I send him off to school with reminders to behave and listen, but once I put him on the bus, I have no control over him or his behaviour. 

The interview was starting to sound like a bitch session about Boy.  They couldn't come up with anything positive about him or his work.  I'm beginnging to think that he is too much work for them and they would rather he not be in their class. If they can convince us that French Immersion is too much for him and he'll fall further and further behind, then we'll decide to move him into English.  He won't be their problem anymore.

That's where we are now.  Trying to decide if French Immersion is the right place for Boy.