The Grade Isn't the Win

On choices, character, and what a report card can't tell you about your kid

Well, it happened. Faster than I thought it would.

Nate, my oldest, almost nineteen, just finished his freshman year of college, running XC and Track in the Big Ten at his dream school. To say I’m proud of this kid is an understatement.

If you’re new here, you should know that he didn’t play on travel teams at seven (or ever). He didn’t specialize in anything. He spent his childhood playing with his sisters in the woods and on the floor with a pile of blocks and Legos. And here we are.

Last year, in early June, right before graduation, he came to me and said, Mom, I got a C in AP Calc. He looked oddly confident when he said it, which threw me off my game. He’s a kid who has always been strong in math. Always gotten As.

But there’s more to the story, and this is the important part.

(The rest is for my paid subs. )