We Don’t Check Grades
About This Conversation
What happens when you stop checking grades?
In this episode of Our Rough Draft, Denise and Tim talk about the start of a new school year, the school rituals they no longer participate in, and how their relationship with education has changed after raising three kids through the public school system.
Together, they reflect on why they don’t check grades, why they skipped curriculum night, and what it means to trust both their child and the educators around him. Along the way, they revisit the story of Cooper getting suspended in elementary school, the complicated role of being both a parent and an educator, and the mixed messages schools sometimes send families about involvement, independence, and growing up.
Whether you’re sending a child back to school, teaching in a classroom, or still carrying your own school stories, this conversation is an invitation to think about what we measure, what we trust, and how we help kids become who they are.
Listen to this conversation
Big Idea
School works best when we lead with trust instead of fear.
Around Your Table
Carry the conversation into your own life.
What did school teach you to care about most?
Where are you being invited to trust your child more?
What would change if you approached school with curiosity instead of fear?
Keepsake
“Education has worked. Education is working. Education has worked for our kids.”
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