NYM

The end of the semester has me contemplating the grading system currently used in the local public schools. While looking for Craig's birth certificate a few months ago, I discovered my report card from first grade. Back then, the marks were "C" (commendation for special effort and achievement), "S" (satisfactory progress) and "N" (need for more effort). In junior high and high school, the marks were the more traditional A through F, grades generally understood in contemporary society. I received only one F--in 8th grade math--and it was well earned. Trust me. Much like the F-word, however, the F grade seems to be banned from use at our local junior high. (I hope to never discover if it is still in use at the high school level.) It seems that giving a child an F--in other words, suggesting to said child that they have failed--is not acceptable in today's society. Think of the damage to the young psyche, the self-esteem issues that might arise. So now we have NYM, which presumably stands for Not Yet Meeting. Although capable and bright, both boys have Not Yet Met their fair share of junior high expectations, one more so than the other. In our house, NYM is actually short for No You May not play video games until your grades improve.

Ben is bemused by the whole NYM concept. There is not much gray in Ben's world: for Ben, everything is pretty much black or white. Good or bad. Right or wrong. Naughty or nice. 0 or 1. When asked to explain the NYM marks he received this semester, he offered his own definition of the ambiguous NYM mark: No, Yes, Maybe?

I like it.