Note From School

The dreaded note from school arrived announcing that my daughter was not listening or cooperative. As kids get a warning with their name on the board and then 3 strikes before getting a note sent home, it must be trouble. At first I was relieved on a personal level that the school was having the same challenges I was having. Then I realized that my daughter’s failure in school was my failure in developing listening skills and cooperation skills.


All kids will have challenges and will develop a personal identity based on their environmental norms. The norms will vary based on socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and cultural norms. I developed my own standards for appropriate conduct, but failed to live up to them many times. Even today I struggle with making the right decisions regardless of knowing what the right decision to make is.

I am glad that the school is communicating. However I am not sure what the best approach to take is in terms of positive reinforcement of good behavior, negative reinforcement of bad behavior or something else.