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I started dreading the day that report cards were distributed when I was in high school. During my elementary and middle school years, the cards were not such a big deal because I had decent grades. My high school grades however were another story. They were so bad that I always find myself trying to postpone showing them to my parents.

As a result of my terrible grades, I was often grounded and was ultimately given a tutor. The tutoring ended during my tenth grade when my tutor asked me to with him to his prom. My father ended that concept really quickly. My parents just didn*t buy my excuse that my grades were slipping because I was no longer getting the rewards that motivated me when I was younger.

These days, modern report cards have undergone a few changes. My son's science teacher still puts pleasant and informative comments on his cards. I was glad to learn that my son was polite and respectful whenever he is at school. The comments enabled me to monitor how my son's behavior is developing at school.

I also noticed that some teachers did not bother to put descriptions on my son's report card. Parents like me want to know what is going on with our children. If teachers can describe our children's behavior at school, we can respond accordingly to deal with any undesirable behavior.

Some schools follow the traditional way of distributing report cards. They still hand the cards to children who are expected to take them home to their parents. Some schools however have chosen to send report cards online. This ensures that the parents can receive the cards and prevent children from conveniently losing them on the way home.

However, viewing report cards online can also have disadvantages. For me reading grades on the Internet just doesn*t seem personal. I also want my son to be responsible and brave enough to hand me his card personally.

Online cards also do not contain the usual descriptions that allow parents tom know more about their children's progress at school. Although I realize that teachers these days have more students and not as much time, I still think that time should be found to make report cards as personal as they were in my school years.