Report Card

[dotdotdot]

OK so I got my school report card today...

B, B, B, C, C+, B

AND a PowerBook has slipped away... :mad:

I now have to wait until JANUARY 2006 until I get a PowerBook/Any Mac... unless my parents give in.

Yep, my previous report cards were: A, A, A, A, A, A (school doesnt give A+s)

SO what to do... I mean its clearly written on the front flap 'these grades are not meant to use for punishment'

[ravenvii]

Oh well, that's life. Either pull up your grades, or get a part-time job and start saving up so you can buy one on your own.

Edit: I didn't see your sig. You're 13, huh. Like the other posters below said, grades aren't everything. The fact that your parents offered to buy you a PowerBook for good grades means you're damn lucky. I didn't get anything if I get good grades, except maybe $20 here and there. Maybe you can save up for a Mac mini. $500 isn't that alot, I saved up $700 when I was 10 or so, to buy a Philips CD-i (I ultimately didn't buy it, thank god!) :)

[LeeTom]

Getting a Powerbook for good grades can hardly be considered punishment... you're a lucky kid. If I were you, I would get good grades, or forget about the Powerbook.
You know you really can't put any of this on your mom and pop...
Those grades don't really seem to live up to your 13-year-old prodigy tag.

I did the same stuff in high school. I dropped from a 3.8 student to about a 2.0 student... Except for one quarter where I got a 3.9, but that was because my girlfriend gave me some incentives to get good grades... heh.
Ahh, high school.

[Sauron's Master]

If you're a 'prodigy' in middle school (since you're 13...), you should be getting a 4.0 anyways even if you couldn't care less and didn't try.

Either that or stop disgracing the prodigy label.

And one more thing, the more good grades you get, the higher expectations so expect less positive and more negative reinforcement in the future.

Finally, I'll give the mandatory disclaimer when the whole topic of GPA is being discussed; grades are not the measure of intelligence nor is it a measure of an individual's worth, and it's also not an indicator of future income or success. Nor is a prodigy label.

Have fun.

[CorvusCamenarum]

High school grades are used to get into college.
College grades are used to get into graduate school and/or land a job.
No one will ever care about your middle school grades unless you want to join the FBI or NSA or a similar organization.

Bottom line: don't sweat it.

[Sauron's Master]

No one will ever care about your middle school grades unless you want to join the FBI or NSA or a similar organization.

Private high schools will care come application time.

[saabmp3]

Private high schools will care come application time.


Yeah, they're it. Why the heck would the FBI or whoever care, they're just another employer (who pays pretty bad).

BEN

[clayj]

Sorry to hear it, but it sounds like you had a deal with your folks, and a deal's a deal. Consider yourself fortunate that they were willing to offer you a deal in the first place; my folks expected me to work my butt off just because they told me to. First time I got ANY sort of big gift was when I graduated high school... I got an IBM PC XT with 640 KB of RAM, a 5.25" floppy drive, 20 MB HD, and a Hercules monochrome monitor. That, and the car my dad bought for me to use when I went to college (and which I had to give to my sister when I bought my own car), are the biggest gifts they ever gave me... aside from the more valuable good upbringing I received. Everything else I have, I earned for myself.

So, get back to work. Get good grades, earn your Powerbook. In the long run, you'll find that things you earn for yourself are much more valuable than things you are given as gifts.

[latergator116]

hehe, I got an F, D+, B+, B-, C+. I'm not lazy (maybe a little), I just hate doing school work. (BTW, the F was in Chemistry).

[wdlove]

OK so I got my school report card today...

B, B, B, C, C+, B

AND a PowerBook has slipped away... :mad:


My parents would have been very pleased with grades like that. Did they expect straight A's before purchasing your PowerBook? Don't you have another grade report this year to pull up your grades and still get PowerBook?

[Lacero]

Grades aren't everything. Parents really should encourage their children to play sports, learn music and be well-rounded students in general.

[Etrain]

Dude, don't worry about it. I got C's and D's in HS and now I am a junior in college with a 3.6 GPA and a member of a business honors society. Grades don't really show anything. I would not consider myself extremely smart, and not smart enough to be in a honors society, but I know how to work the system. Let it be known, buying coffee for your professors and kissing their ass WILL get you on the deans list! Let the suckers study, I suck up! :) In my 3 years at college I have managed to get grades curved, retake many tests and even 4 professors have given me the final before the day of the test so I could breeze through. Trust me, knowing how the system works and how to work it to your advantage is much more important than what you got the C's in. Learn how people operate and you will be surprised what people will do for you. :D

This same concept can be used on your parents. I bet you can get your PB withouth straight A's if you play your hand right. Get some brown on your nose.

[yellow]

Heh.. the underachievers chime in :)

[Sauron's Master]

In my 3 years at college I have managed to get grades curved, retake many tests and even 4 professors have given me the final before the day of the test so I could breeze through. Trust me, knowing how the system works and how to work it to your advantage is much more important than what you got the C's in. Learn how people operate and you will be surprised what people will do for you. :D


...somehow college professors have no ethics and are willing to let you essentially cheat on a test just because you 'bought coffee for them.'

Either that's complete bs or the college you attend is complete bs.

You should really learn how truly intelligent and manipulative people operate before lying. It really does help...

[clayj]

...somehow college professors have no ethics and are willing to let you essentially cheat on a test just because you 'bought coffee for them.'

Either that's complete bs or the college you attend is complete bs.

You should really learn how truly intelligent and manipulative people operate before lying. It really does help...Seriously. Someday he's going to run into someone like me who doesn't respect sucking up at all (in fact, I will punish you for it), and he's gonna crash and burn.

Dot³, don't listen to that mess. Study, get good grades, earn your Powerbook. You'll be better off in the long run.

[CorvusCamenarum]

Private high schools will care come application time.

Mine didn't. I changed cities and schools between sophomore and junior years, due to some not-so-fun domestic issues. Private school to private school. I passed the aptitude test with flying colors; and it didn't matter to them that my grade average for the first two years was around 79%. During my last two years, however, my average was around 94%, but I suspect that the change in environment helped greatly.

[CorvusCamenarum]

Yeah, they're it. Why the heck would the FBI or whoever care, they're just another employer (who pays pretty bad).

BEN

The FBI goes back and interviews just about anyone you ever knew, including your first grade teacher. Or so they said in the tour. But no, I've never known a government agent to lie about anything, ever, they're so trustworthy :rolleyes:

[Kwyjibo]

The FBI goes back and interviews just about anyone you ever knew, including your first grade teacher. Or so they said in the tour. But no, I've never known a government agent to lie about anything, ever, they're so trustworthy :rolleyes:

one of my friends has an internship offer from the CIA, they came here and interviewed me and a bunch of his friends but I doubt his whole line of teachers ... yeah its an intern but they spent quite a bit of money on the interviewing process it seems but they've toned it down in recent years and don't only take the straight by the books kinda guys ... ie never done nothing types

[Sauron's Master]

Mine didn't. I changed cities and schools between sophomore and junior years, due to some not-so-fun domestic issues. Private school to private school. I passed the aptitude test with flying colors; and it didn't matter to them that my grade average for the first two years was around 79%. During my last two years, however, my average was around 94%, but I suspect that the change in environment helped greatly.

Most private secondary schools consider grades as a weighing factor in admissions decisions. That being said, it doesn't say anything about how selective individual private schools may be or how much more the standardized testing is weighted.

[garybUK]

I think its completely wrong for a parent to dangle a very expensive incentive like a carrot in front of children to get good marks at school.

I NEVER got anything from any of my parents evenings & marks until I got my GCSE results, that was a meal and a DVD. My freinds were the same. Encouragement should be done throughout the school year and not when reports come out.

wow what a materialistic culture we live in.

[Etrain]

Either that's complete bs or the college you attend is complete bs.

You should really learn how truly intelligent and manipulative people operate before lying. It really does help...

I was not lying. It's not the college that is bs either, it is the profs. It was their choice to help me in the fasion they did. I just took it and smiled. :D

[CorvusCamenarum]

I think its completely wrong for a parent to dangle a very expensive incentive like a carrot in front of children to get good marks at school.

I NEVER got anything from any of my parents evenings & marks until I got my GCSE results, that was a meal and a DVD. My freinds were the same. Encouragement should be done throughout the school year and not when reports come out.

wow what a materialistic culture we live in.

Agreed. Granted, I'll admit I got intermittent rewards for doing well in school, but it was never a "get good marks and you can have this toy" sort of thing. They just rather happened. My grandparents quite literally surprised me with a SNES when I managed to bring home straight A's for the first time, but I wasn't expecting it.

That being said, it's hard to instill in most people, and children especially, the benefits of paying attention in school and doing your best, whatever it may be. Even if you just scrape by in high school, there's some college out there somewhere that will take you. Unless you're going into a competitive and specialized field like law or medecine, most employers just want to know you stuck with it long enough to get the sheepskin.

[Chubypig]

Just out of curiosity, what happened to make your grades go down so much? What classes were you taking? I hope you have good luck bringing them back up and getting a pbook.

[Eevee]

Are you Asian?

Most Asian parents are strict on their children

"A- and below is not acceptable!"

Sometimes, it gets serious! Knew this one student from UC Irvine, and her parents would disown her unless she gets into medical school. Ugh...

Just try to do your best next semester.

latergator116, I hated Chemistry in high school. But now am a chemist! Weird!

[Balin64]

Forget it: no PowerBook for you. Not when your grades are slipping: the PB would just distract you from your syudies. You're lucky youy have progressive parents who offered you a Mac. I had to work two summers, and wait two years to buy my first Mac: a Color Classic. I almost cried when I finally opened the box. And by the way, I graduated in the top 10 in a class of 600 in my HIGH SCHOOL. You are two years out of ELEMENTARY school. Stop bothering us with your banal kiddie whimpers. Hit the books, stop posting on MacRumors, and come join us again when you have the semblance of an adult. Damn, some of these children bother me...

[latergator116]

latergator116, I hated Chemistry in high school. But now am a chemist! Weird!

I could never imagine being a chemist! Actually, if I really put in some effort I could probably do well in chemistry, but just looking through the book or at a problem is very intmimidating.

[CubaTBird]

Forget it: no PowerBook for you. Not when your grades are slipping: the PB would just distract you from your syudies. You're lucky youy have progressive parents who offered you a Mac. I had to work two summers, and wait two years to buy my first Mac: a Color Classic. I almost cried when I finally opened the box. And by the way, I graduated in the top 10 in a class of 600 in my HIGH SCHOOL. You are two years out of ELEMENTARY school. Stop bothering us with your banal kiddie whimpers. Hit the books, stop posting on MacRumors, and come join us again when you have the semblance of an adult. Damn, some of these children bother me...

hit the books? i worked so hard my junior year for this here ibook and still posted on macrumors all the time.. its all about budgeting your time. ;)

[Daveway]

My report this semester was less than stellar I must admit. When I came into high school my grades just started falling off the deepend. I really don't have all that much extra stuff, I'm just in 3 clubs and the golf team. Most other guys at my school are football jocks and the such, I don't like the real physical stuff. :o
As long as I end each school year with a "B" average I'm okay. I know i can be straight "A" but I'm lazy. I'm on target to exit this school year with a 3.1 and 3.5 for career average.

BTW: Does anyone here live somewhere where there is a scholarship program? Here in Louisiana we have TOPS. Any student in the state who has at least a 2.5 or 20 on the ACT gets money for college. It's a godsend for everyone in my area. Most people go to college paying very little. However, you only get the money if you go to a school in Louisiana.

[Doctor Q]

You've brought back memories of the disappointing day I brought home my first (maybe only, I forget) straight-A report card. I proudly showed my mom, but she just said "oh yeah, ok" and signed it for me to take back to school.

She later told me that she had read that if you make too much of a fuss over good grades, the poor child will feel awful if their grades aren't as good the next time. Those darn parenting magazines!

[Eevee]

Dr. Q,

Are you a chemist? What's with the Fe stuff?

latergator116, I was strange in college, loved chemistry but hated social science. So maybe I have problems... :confused:

[latergator116]

Dr. Q,

Are you a chemist? What's with the Fe stuff?

latergator116, I was strange in college, loved chemistry but hated social science. So maybe I have problems... :confused:

If you have problems, then I have problems too. I hate chemistry, but I enjoy math and I'm nuetral about history. Most people I talk to either hate or love math and chemistry together

[CorvusCamenarum]

BTW: Does anyone here live somewhere where there is a scholarship program? Here in Louisiana we have TOPS. Any student in the state who has at least a 2.5 or 20 on the ACT gets money for college. It's a godsend for everyone in my area. Most people go to college paying very little. However, you only get the money if you go to a school in Louisiana.

They have something like that in Georgia. Don't quote me on this, as I could be mistaken, but I believe its called the HOPE scholarship. If you attain a certain grade level in high school and maintain a grade level in college (I think it's a B average), then your in-state tuition is remitted. All this is paid for by the Georgia state lottery. Our previous governor here in AL tried to create something of the sort a few years ago, but it was voted down and cost him re-election.

[nightdweller25]

Hey, I'm 15 (just turned 15 about 3 days ago) and my parents did the same thing for me and I managed to slip by with a 3.83, meaning a new 12-inch PowerBook, 80 GB HD, Superdrive, and 768mb of RAM, I decided to wait until Tiger is preinstalled before I buy it, I don't NEED it right now and i can get by with my 1 GHz, 512mb of RAM iBook.

[clayj]

What's with the Fe stuff?It's iron sulfide, aka fool's gold. Surely keeping in line with today's pirate theme.

[Doctor Q]

Are you a chemist?No. I took one high school class, and that's all. But I like science in general and subtle jokes in particular.

[5300cs]

Dude, don't worry about it. I got C's and D's in HS and now I am a junior in college with a 3.6 GPA and a member of a business honors society. Grades don't really show anything. I would not consider myself extremely smart, and not smart enough to be in a honors society, but I know how to work the system. Let it be known, buying coffee for your professors and kissing their ass WILL get you on the deans list! Let the suckers study, I suck up! :) In my 3 years at college I have managed to get grades curved, retake many tests and even 4 professors have given me the final before the day of the test so I could breeze through. Trust me, knowing how the system works and how to work it to your advantage is much more important than what you got the C's in. Learn how people operate and you will be surprised what people will do for you. :D

This same concept can be used on your parents. I bet you can get your PB withouth straight A's if you play your hand right. Get some brown on your nose.

*sigh* :rolleyes:

[janey]

screw grades. they're meaningless. especially in middle school, nobody's going to give a flying #&!@.

on top of that, tell your parents to go &#@$ themselves too. don't ever let them end up like my parents...you'll be doing everyone a favour. yesterday, my counselor called me in and said she needed a word with me, my parents, and one of my teachers because of the way I was acting. Fun stuff, she thinks I need to get out of school and I need to go see a shrink, and all because of my parents. so yeah. don't listen to them :p

oh, and if you want that powerbook so much, maybe you should consider getting a job and saving up some money. it's a good thing to do.

[applekid]

Are you Asian?

Most Asian parents are strict on their children

"A- and below is not acceptable!"

Sometimes, it gets serious! Knew this one student from UC Irvine, and her parents would disown her unless she gets into medical school. Ugh...

Just try to do your best next semester.

Heh. I'm Asian and sounds just like house. Quite the stereotype ;)

My report card isn't looking too hot this quarter. I think they just might disown me this time. :( I'm in high school so grades actually matter, you know. A Calc in C just might mean I'm out of this household. It looks like that's exactly what will happen, too.

A real "prodigy" would be the currently-15-years-old-but-was-13-when-in-high-school kid in my school. Straight A's. AP classes. The works. He isn't too horribly socially inept either. Then there's a kid only a year younger than him that is a total moron, but somehow got the "prodigy" title because he plays the violin well enough to get paid tens of thousands of dollars. Kid's a total a-hole; isn't smart at all. Practically bombing school, by prodigy standards. Now that kid is a disgrace to the label.

[CubaTBird]

Heh. I'm Asian and sounds just like house. Quite the stereotype ;)

My report card isn't looking too hot this quarter. I think they just might disown me this time. :( I'm in high school so grades actually matter, you know. A Calc in C just might mean I'm out of this household. It looks like that's exactly what will happen, too.

A real "prodigy" would be the currently-15-years-old-but-was-13-when-in-high-school kid in my school. Straight A's. AP classes. The works. He isn't too horribly socially inept either. Then there's a kid only a year younger than him that is a total moron, but somehow got the "prodigy" title because he plays the violin well enough to get paid tens of thousands of dollars. Kid's a total a-hole; isn't smart at all. Practically bombing school, by prodigy standards. Now that kid is a disgrace to the label.

u know whats crazy.. i know kids who took ap classes during various parts of the year and now are deciding to go to cc! its crazy stuff.. and the kids that do take ap's get crap grades and end up habing gpas of like 2.4... i took reg classes, got a gpa of 3.1 and got into a good college.. im happy.. i didn't buy into that whole apl stuff.. i find it relentless.

[applemacdude]

It's iron sulfide, aka fool's gold. Surely keeping in line with today's pirate theme.


I tought Fe was just Iron

[selloutvixen]

I don't think anyone has any ability to actually WORK and EARN anything on their own anymore. I NEVER got anything like a new computer for ONE lousy report card. Everything I have I earned.

Every. single. one. of my friends that was spoiled rotten with a beautiful car in high school/college from mommy and daddy has crashed it, or destroyed it. Then what do they do? BUY THEM ANOTHER ONE. No! My kid's going work for their crapbox car with the front bumper hanging off, leaking windshield washer fluid all over the road. Then when they actually get something nice, they'll APPRECIATE and take excellent care of the nice things.

My advice? Get a job. Stop relying on your parents to spoil you. You obviously already have a computer, or access to one. Why do you need a new Powerbook? In a community where the majority of posters seem to be of an older age bracket, your complaining is falling on deaf ears.

[clayj]

I tought Fe was just IronYeah, but the chemical in his avatar was FeS2, which is iron sulfide. Fe = iron, S = sulfur.

[CubaTBird]

I don't think anyone has any ability to actually WORK and EARN anything on their own anymore. I NEVER got anything like a new computer for ONE lousy report card. Everything I have I earned.

Every. single. one. of my friends that was spoiled rotten with a beautiful car in high school/college from mommy and daddy has crashed it, or destroyed it. Then what do they do? BUY THEM ANOTHER ONE. No! My kid's going work for their crapbox car with the front bumper hanging off, leaking windshield washer fluid all over the road. Then when they actually get something nice, they'll APPRECIATE and take excellent care of the nice things.

My advice? Get a job. Stop relying on your parents to spoil you. You obviously already have a computer, or access to one. Why do you need a new Powerbook? In a community where the majority of posters seem to be of an older age bracket, your complaining is falling on deaf ears.

i think ur wrong... most parents use motivation to boost their kids skills... it all depends on point of view... also.. it depends on situation more than anything else..

[buryyourbrideau]

man i wish i wouldve been rewarded for good grades in middle and high school, all my dad ever said to me was if you get good grades, you will get a good education and you will make a butt load of money in the future...thats your present....haha thanks and he hopefully will be right...ohh yea see all of you in northern illinois univ in the fall most likely :)

[yellow]

all my dad ever said to me was if you get good grades, you will get a good education and you will make a butt load of money in the future.

Not necessarily a one to one ratio.. however, I applaud your father for not trying to effectively (immediately) bribe you into caring about your future.

[buryyourbrideau]

agreed plus when i get to college, it wont feel like i am not getting anything since i really havent ever been handed anything in the past..the field i want to be in is research meteorology for the NWS and that is from 100k to 150k a yer and yea edu will help but i have loved tornadoes since birth so i guess i can kinda thank him for that :confused:

[janey]

u know whats crazy.. i know kids who took ap classes during various parts of the year and now are deciding to go to cc! its crazy stuff.. and the kids that do take ap's get crap grades and end up habing gpas of like 2.4... i took reg classes, got a gpa of 3.1 and got into a good college.. im happy.. i didn't buy into that whole apl stuff.. i find it relentless.
its easy to do that. just fulfill bunches of grad requirements, take a few tests, get out...go to your local community college.
APs are useful sometimes. I just don't know what they're useful for. :rolleyes:

[saabmp3]

APs are useful sometimes. I just don't know what they're useful for. :rolleyes:

Saving lots and lots of money by skipping 101 classes in college? Last time I checked, private schools are going into the 30k range for a decent one, not even a top list school. If you can shave even a quarter off of your graduating date, that's nearly 8 to 12 thousand dollars.

So, yes, I can see a reason for some people to take AP tests to get ride of 101 classes.