Anyway, it was reworded to this:
I think it's kind of ironic that the OP is complaining about having to soften comments and only write pleasant things on the report cards, and then she asks for people to only say pleasant things about report cards.
The problem is that I know my mother looked over them but didn't really care, you see. Now I'm seeing the darn things from the other side and have a lot of sympathy for the poor teachers who had no choice but to spend vast quantities of their lives thinking up a nice way to say, "she never shuts up!" 
This report card thing has been an interesting experience...To those who are wondering, we had a report can meeting as a grade to go over them. So I met with the other grade on teachers to read / edit all comments. Nothing I had to say was awful, my kids are great! But they are kids and they're not perfect. Some of them are chatterboxes and distract those around them, some have yet to work out the whole raise your hand concept, and a few need constant reminders to actually get working. Normal kid stuff.
Here's an example of my initial comment (I saved the new comments in a different file so I could go over them again):
_______ can follow directions very well, and is extremely self-sufficient within the classroom. He is confident and enjoys participating in conversation and discussion. ______ sometimes struggles with using class time effectively. He knows what he can work on when assignments are completed, though this is a time when he prefers to talk with neighbors, which can cause distractions in the classroom. ______ needs to focus on using his spare time more productively. ______ is a great addition to the classroom, his enthusiasm is infectious and he helps to make the days fun for everyone.
It was agreed this was too harsh.
_____ is a confident and friendly student who has a good sense of humour. He has adjusted well to the grade one routines and it is a pleasure having him in our grade one class this year. ______ is able to follow directions and independently complete class assignments within the allotted time. When completing his work early, ______ is encouraged to use the remaining time to his advantage rather than talking with classmates. ______'s enthusiasm for learning and his keen participation in class discussions is appreciated. Well done, ______.As I said, it's my first crack at this, but they don't seem THAT different except that the second one is much less direct in saying what actually needs to be worked on by the student. Was my first comment really that bad??
To be fair, the child in question really is problematic in this area. He can distract an entire classroom when not occupied. Darned if he isn't the cutest kid, though. 
Well then I guess it's good that they were edited.
However, I was just trying to point out that at least here, the grades aren't based on if you can throw or catch a ball, run or what have you. Although by Junior/Senior year you get a little bit of choice in what PE class you want to take. Next year DD is hoping to take the dance/aerobics class they started offering for Juniors/Seniors.
)
I just spent week writing the darn things. Not to mention the two weeks before that doing all the assessments for them. When it came to my social comments, I had to "soften" them because apparently saying a grade one student has a tendency to socialize during work time was too harsh (this was in between two positive statements to start and one to finish). In kindergarten the report cards were different, so this is really my first crack at this sort of thing. I just can't see how they're all that useful... If all I can write is good things, what's the point?
Anyway, in response to my question: Parents, please say you read report cards over and over, then bring them up at family dinners for discussion, and perhaps even frame them or plate them in bronze... This will make me feel good about the amount of time I've put into them. Thank you. (In this particular case, saying you don't care about them all that much is the wrong answer. That's like my aunt cheerfully telling me how she wrote my wedding date in her planner and threw out the wedding invitation I spent countless nights hand making - it may be true, but saying it is just mean!
Here's an example of my initial comment (I saved the new comments in a different file so I could go over them again):
_______ can follow directions very well, and is extremely self-sufficient within the classroom. He is confident and enjoys participating in conversation and discussion. ______ sometimes struggles with using class time effectively. He knows what he can work on when assignments are completed, though this is a time when he prefers to talk with neighbors, which can cause distractions in the classroom. ______ needs to focus on using his spare time more productively. ______ is a great addition to the classroom, his enthusiasm is infectious and he helps to make the days fun for everyone.
It was agreed this was too harsh.
_____ is a confident and friendly student who has a good sense of humour. He has adjusted well to the grade one routines and it is a pleasure having him in our grade one class this year. ______ is able to follow directions and independently complete class assignments within the allotted time. When completing his work early, ______ is encouraged to use the remaining time to his advantage rather than talking with classmates. ______'s enthusiasm for learning and his keen participation in class discussions is appreciated. Well done, ______.As I said, it's my first crack at this, but they don't seem THAT different except that the second one is much less direct in saying what actually needs to be worked on by the student. Was my first comment really that bad??
