Moving Up

Grant is doing very well in his Hapkido classes, and loving every minute of it.  He was named the student of the month for May, and gets to wear a cool, red-white-and-blue belt for the month.

He is also testing for his next belt. He is super excited! In order for him to do the test, we had to fill out a parent evaluation, I had to fill out a teacher evaluation, and Grant had to write a paper on what it means to be courteous. We worked on the paper together, and this is what we wrote:

 What Does It Mean To Be Courteous?

My name is Grant. I am 8 years old, and I am good at being courteous. Being courteous means doing stuff for others without expecting anything back. Courteous means being polite. It means respecting others. Being responsible for the things you do, like when you hurt someone, is part of being courteous.


When I do my chores without expecting anything back I am being courteous. When I pick up my sister’s room, she offers me money, and I say, “No, thank you”, because I don’t need it. When I listen to my parents, teachers and coaches I am being respectful and showing courtesy. Most of the time I have a good attitude, but sometimes I’m cranky. When I’m at my Cousin Brendan’s house I don’t do anything bad. When I got presents for my birthday, I said thank you for them all. It is important not to interrupt grown-ups when they are talking. I make sure to knock on closed doors before I open them. I try not to call people mean names, or make fun of anyone. If I bump into someone, I would say, “Excuse me.” When I am 16 years old, I’ll try not to bump into other cars when I’m driving because cars can’t say, “Excuse me.” When I walk through a door, I try to remember to look and see if I can hold it open for someone else. These are all ways to show courtesy, and I do my best to be courteous every day.

UPDATE: Grant did awesome on his test, and passed with flying colors!  He has now moved up a 1/2 degree in his belt color. His teacher was very impressed with his courtesy paper, and read it out loud to everyone.  Grant will also be moving into a different class. His teacher is looking forward to having Grant in the new class, and says he will probably motivate some of the other kids in that class to do better.  Go Grant!