![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/Hannahs-half-yearly-progress-report-semester-1-2011-blog.jpg\" "\\"Hannah's")
<\/p>\nI used to write remarks and testimonials for my students when I was a full-time teacher. There were certain dos and don’ts stipulated pertaining to our choice of words. No matter how disruptive or unaccomplished the kid was, I was required to word my remark in a positive manner but still be able to suggest the intended meaning. It was quite a challenge for a low language proficient person I was (still am!). It was also an art I’ve acquired over the years.<\/p>\n
For example: “Outspoken and sociable, Clara is a live-wire in her class. There has never been a dull moment with her during lessons…” Reality: Clara (not her actual name) is talkative and disrupts an otherwise conducive learning environment in her classroom.<\/p>\n
We just received Hannah’s progress report from her playgroup teacher – yes, you got that right, tiny tots do get assessed these days too. We read it with some amusement and agreed or disagreed with some parts – but that’s okay. All children have different pace of learning and we were not too overly concerned if Hannah appeared to be lagging in certain areas of development. But what caught our attention was the overall comments her teacher wrote at the bottom. Hmm, “very smart” eh? The asian + teacher spirit in us caused us to read in-between the lines and connect with a recent report from her nanny about her misconduct at school. See below!<\/p>\n
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Could that be the idea at the back of her teacher’s mind when she wrote it? Ha ha :)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I used to write remarks and testimonials for my students when I was a full-time teacher. There were certain dos and don’ts stipulated pertaining to our choice of words. No matter how disruptive or unaccomplished the kid was, I was<\/p>\n