Opportunity Knocks

Dear Friends,
Before I became an educator (portfolio worker), I used to look pitifully at people who mistook their jobs for their identity. There is so much more to life than one's job, I used to say. Well, well, guess whose thoughts will not stop pivoting around teachers and teaching anytime soon!
If you live in Ontario, you already know that, the war between the government and its employees, especially teachers, is still on.
The board requires one thing, the union suggest another. Unfortunately, the administration has to take one stand, its staff perhaps a different one. The latest bomb, ready to explode is the mid-term Progress Report. The board expects detailed description of each student's abilities and work habits. The union proposes couple of concise sentences to provide parents with an overview.
Although a few might disagree, I usually do what I'm told. However, in this particular case, I believe I shall bite the bullet and decide on two concise statements, emphasizing the valuable.   

The problem with the policy makers mandate is that, the six Learning Skills in our report cards overlap. First, Responsibility blends in with Organization, and then they both fade into Independent Work! Initiative and Self-Regulation also share the same bed. Collaboration, however, is worth mentioning on its own.  
Since I have to fill this section, entirely, three times a year, I have no choice but to repackage the same messages over and over again. Honestly, I end up feeling a bit unsophisticated.
In all my readings, in multitude of psychology magazines, I hear experts say it takes many years for people to change. I have to wonder why policy makers have decided the opposite to be true for 6, 7 and 8-year-olds.
This time around, I have been given the opportunity to do what I believe in - I shall take it, with much enthusiasm and confidence. I am an opportunist - accepted and filed!
What have you accepted and filed today?