Negative Notes From School Can Indicate Dreams Are In Progress

For decades, parents have worried when their child arrives home with negative notes from their teacher. These notes arrive pinned to the book bag, crumpled into a pocket or through the U.S. Mail. When negative notes arrive, parents are often upset at their scholastic non-achievers. If a child would rather dream about joining the carnival instead of reading their assignments in class, remember that it is not time to panic. Words on notes are not always true. Scholastic notes about children have two sides of the pages to consider. 

When dreams are in progress, unexpected events can happen:

Billy: Young Billy was probably a handful for his mother to control when he refused to do his homework. Nobody has ever questioned Billy’s choice to drop out of school to marry his pregnant girlfriend; however, people still hotly debate the meaning behind Billy’s famous line, “To be, or not to be, that is the question:” from his play: Hamlet. There are some who believe that William Shakespeare left us those words as a reminder to stay in school. 

Cherylin: Cherylin was a minority student, struggling through school with an undiagnosed dyslexia problem during the 1960s. Raised primarily by a single mother, Cherylin spent time in the Foster Care system once food money was scarce. At age 16, pretty Cherylin dropped out of school with starry-eyed dreams about becoming a famous actress. Cher had a mom who loved her; money was provided for acting lessons. Dropout Cher met Sonny Bono, and together they made beautiful music as two dropouts in love. 

Rosa: Today, when adorable little girls stomp their foot in class and declare, “I will not!” notes sail home from the experts. Parents are asked to place their child into anger management programs, counseling or alternative schools. However, during the year 1955, Rosa Parks was furious when a white man asked her to give up her seat because she was black. There are two sides to every story. It is safe to believe that dropout Rosa Parks might have told our modern school experts to quit stomping their own feet first.

Peter: Young Peter had a father who did not understand his love of Valerie and comic books. Teachers probably notified Peter’s parents of the times he was daydreaming in class or when Peter was caught hiding comic books inside of the pages of his required textbook reading. Inevitably, lazy Peter finally flunked out of school, never passing grade 10. Before the famous ABC ‘World News Tonight’ news anchor Peter Jennings died in 2005, Peter explained that he was always totally bored in school. 

The Bishop’s Boys: A well-loved bishop named Wright, had two sons who were inseparable opposites. The first son enjoyed reading, but was forced out of high school after a sporting accident. The second son was a dreamer, prankster and mischievous personality. When the grade school notified the bishop that his youngest son was being expelled over pranks, we can speculate that the bishop was unhappy. After these boys left their high school years, the brothers worked at printing religious publications until they pooled their reading and creative talents to invent the airplane.

Joseph: Little Joseph, was also called Jerome. At age 5, Joseph was performing on a stage to delight his New Jersey parents. By age 15, Joseph was called Joey, and developing his own record act. Soon, the child called Joseph, Jerome and Joey changed his name to Jerry and managed to graduate from a public high school, despite his constant performance schedules that left him disinterested in school. Today, we can only wonder if public school experts were worried about Jerry Lewis, and his unconventional parents. 

Glen: Glen had eleven brothers and sisters, and came from a non-wealthy home. At age 16, Glen left his small town of 100 residents to find a different environment. And, Glen turned out fine: “Like a rhinestone cowboy, riding out on a horse in a star-spangled rodeo… and offers comin’ over the phone.” In reality, experts at the tiny public school probably never considered sending a note of concern home to the sharecropper parents of Glen Travis Campbell before he left home to become a millionaire. 

Reginald: Reginald had an uneventful childhood under the direction of his restrictive parents; however, at age 17, Reginald decided to leave school a short time before his graduation to start a singing career. The school, Reginald’s father and all other available adults worked hard to convince Reginald that he should reconsider his decision to become a lowly singer. Reginald’s proper English father was frustrated at his son’s rejection of a logical banking career. Today, Reginald Kenneth Dwight uses the stage name: Elton John. School officials never questioned Reginald’s proper clothing. 

Lucy: Lucy was an intelligent child, coupled to family situations that kept her childhood life unsettled. After multiple moves and adult family member changes, Lucy found herself in love with a 21-year-old man. At age 14, Lucy knew for sure that this neighborhood hoodlum was the man she would marry. Lucy’s parents stepped in and sent Lucy off to a school of dance, where she quit after one semester. Can you imagine the professional notes that would fly to parents today over this situation? These carefully crafted memos would not start with, I Love Lucy,your lovable redhead dropout.

Millionaire businessman J.R. Simplot, the first microbiologist Anton van Leeuwenhoek, and the Kemmons Wilson who founded Holiday Inn, were all high school dropouts. American poet Rod McKuen, ‘Success Magazine’ founder W. Clement Stone and actress Sophia Loren were all elementary school dropouts. Our society is filled with successful adults that were not scholastic achievers, and successful scholars who choose to follow questionable lifestyle paths. 

Dropout Patrick Stewart, the prestigious Captain Jean Luc Picard of Star Trek fame explains most scholastic problems admirably, “I never had teenage years. I guess because I was seen to be more adult than anybody around me.” Each child is unique. When our educators try to fit all children into the same mold, it is logical to expect that some will notice that not all of our presidents have graduated and choose to pursue other interests.

If your child is reading comics instead of their history lessons and the authorities are sending notes, have a Coke. While sipping this beverage from a company that was once owned by a dropout, remember that each note has two sides of the page to consider.