The Report Card

Nora’s high intelligence makes her wise and perceptive beyond her years, qualities that she uses to better both herself and her community. When Nora catches herself in a cynical train of thought, she reprimands herself: “I didn’t let myself be cynical. Because that’s too easy. And because I knew better” (80). She explains for readers the history of the Cynics as an ancient philosophical school, and then she proceeds to adjust her behavior accordingly. Unlike the “gifted” students in her class, who often think themselves better than the average students, she doesn’t use her understanding to feed her arrogance. Rather, she directs her wisdom toward self-awareness and improves herself for others’ sake. She also commits to improving the world around her; seeing the report cards’ negative impact on her peers, Nora decides to use her gift to make a difference. She starts by nearly failing all her classes, knowing that a few bad grades aren’t a huge sacrifice for her: “But it’s sort of like I have immunity. I’m smart, and I know I’m smart, and I know that when I have to prove I’m smart, I’ll be able to. My grades won’t matter so much, not like they do now for a lot of kids” (73). She understands that she’ll probably get in trouble, but she willingly accepts the consequences for a larger purpose.

Nora’s enthusiasm for her goals does cause her to overlook complications at key moments. For example, she thinks only of her objective when she fails every quiz one Friday. When Mrs. Hackney confronts her, Nora says that she acts on her classmates’ behalf: “What about all the other kids? I get to go and do creative and exciting things, and all the other kids get worksheets and memorization and the same old stuff, week after week. That’s not fair” (122). However, Mrs. Hackney must deal with the more immediate consequences of Nora’s actions. Mrs. Hackney challenges her, “A gift like yours comes with responsibilities, Nora. I want you to think about that. You have responsibilities” (122). Nora inwardly maintains that she has a different goal than Mrs. Hackney believes—Nora doesn’t necessarily want to eliminate grades, just change the way grades affect students—but Nora does pause to contemplate how getting zeroes complicates her teachers’ jobs. She focused so stubbornly on the final objective that she didn’t consider how her actions could negatively impact others along the way.

After this realization, Nora approaches Mrs. Byrne for advice. The conversation is difficult for Nora, and Mrs. Byrne doesn’t give her concrete advice: “I wish I could tell you what to do, Nora. But I can’t. I can tell you this, though. Of all the possible things we can do at any moment, one is usually better than the rest. So that’s the one to look out for. All you ever have to do is the next good thing” (131). The effect is counterintuitive; instead of advising Nora what to do, she leaves her with more questions than answers. Nonetheless, Nora walks away feeling better: “Which wasn’t logical. Because the fact is, logic only works up to a certain point. Beyond that point, it takes a different kind of thinking. More like listening. And watching” (132-133). She now realizes that her plans misfired because she only acted according to the big picture when, in fact, she should also use her intelligence to make wise decisions for each moment.

Nora accidentally incites rebellion among her classmates when they follow her example by also failing their quizzes. This once again reminds Nora how different she is from the others: “Fact: I was the only kid in the whole school worrying this way about grades and tests and competition. All the other kids were being normal. And I had to face that fact, too: I was not a normal kid” (128). The other kids only joined Nora’s cause because the plan sounded exciting and broke their routine; they don’t fully comprehend how grades and test scores impact their lives—short- and long-term—like Nora does. Once again, Nora’s plans don’t consider all the relevant information. She finally makes amends with both teachers and students when she addresses everyone in the library: “I know school’s important, and it’s important to do good work, and I think almost every kid does—good work, I mean. And the teachers do, too” (165). She never intended to minimize school’s importance, only the impact of grades on students’ self-perception and social dynamics. Nonetheless, Nora’s brave speech to her teachers and classmates helps redirect everyone’s attention to more important matters: Students should always try their best in school—without worrying about what score their “best” produces—and teachers should investigate creative ways to instill a true love of learning in their students. Most importantly, Nora achieves this by listening to the people around her and determining the next good step for everyone. Nora learns that responsibility for her intelligence involves not only grand, big-picture ideas, but also wisdom in every decision she makes each step of the way.