Question: My son came home from school with a rather poor report card that was a big disappointment for his parents. I am certain that the boy is capable of much better grades as he has demonstrated in earlier grades so I don’t know whether to be upset with him or with his teacher. What is the right thing to do?

Answer: Don’t waste your breath scolding your son or challenging his teacher. And don’t panic because it is not uncommon for even a very good student to have a bad patch in his scholastic career for a wide variety of reasons.

Your surprise at seeing grades which reflect the problem your son is facing indicates that you have not been very careful in monitoring your son’s progress in school and his teacher has perhaps been too overburdened to communicate with you about the situation. It would be wise for you to write a note to the teacher expressing your disappointment with your son’s grades and requesting that he communicate with you so that you can work together for improvement.

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