Let's hope there is no "D"nial...

All over the United States right now, school computers are whizzing away keeping tabs on students' grades.

The end of the school year is approaching and when it's over, there's no going back so these grades mean a lot.

Scary, huh?

Uh, for the kid, maybe.

Hopefully you're not scared. Well, maybe you're a bit nervous. After all, you don't want to see Junior do poorly. You poke and prod and hope that he (or she) does his or her best and gets good grades.

You do poke and prod don't you?

I admit I have never been good at this, personally. That's why I'm glad I "married up" to a fabulous woman who lovingly, but firmly, demands that our little scholars get good grades. Of course, I have learned to support her wholeheartedly in this. She has, uh, expectations of me, too...

There is no scuffling by in our house.

Fortunately, Ed Reformer Junior and Juniorette get very good grades. They're pretty good self-starters. But I'm sure they would have slopped off and gotten a few lower marks without the prodding of the lovely Mrs. Reformer.

I never was much of a discipline problem at home because I knew Ma and Pa would not have been happy if I played the fool. It's that way in my own house now, but especially when it comes to grades.

If you don't expect your kids to perform at their highest capability, they probably won't. Heck, they're children and they need to have their hineys kicked (metaphorically) once in a while; sometimes more than that.

Low expectations = low return and low self-esteem. High expectations = valuable return and better self-esteem.

We expect our schools to push the students, but reform starts at home.