John's poor grades and skipped classes in high school, from his 1994 report cards
story · status: told 4× · last event: retold (2026-03-03)
In 2015 John said he had been a terrible high-school student who skipped early classes to smoke in the woods; in 2019 he told how he nearly failed 11th grade English, and in 2026 he read out his 11th-grade report cards, noting he later wrote a book about that year.
About: United States Academic Decathlon, Alabama
| date | event | what | video |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-11-13 | told | John's report cards, back to elementary school, all say much the same: great potential as an English student, underachievement, and a slide in effort. (playful) | I Was a Child Poet. And a Bad One. 00:01:10 |
| 2015-02-24 | told | John reads his 1994 junior-year report cards (C- Latin, B- French, B American history, C- pre-calc, C chemistry, C- English) and says he was a terrible student who skipped classes, smoked in the woods and was always behind. | Who I Was in High School 00:00:41 |
| 2019-08-13 | retold | John nearly failed 11th grade English: he and his teacher disagreed about class attendance, and he wasn't a great reader, struggling with critical and abstract thinking. | How I (barely) Passed 11th Grade English 00:00:00 |
| 2026-03-03 | retold | John reads his 11th-grade report cards (a tailspin, underachievement, eight absences in a no-absence trimester); his junior year was not great, and he later wrote a book about it. | The Best Fan Mail I Ever Received 00:02:03 |
What is said about it
4 statements, by date (the events above are the turns of the thread; these are the details).
- 2015-02-24 · Who I Was in High School — John found his 1994 junior-year report cards: C- in Latin, B- in French, B in American history, C- in pre-calc, C in chemistry and C- in English, with critical teacher comments. — 00:00:41
- 2015-02-24 · Who I Was in High School — John jokes that he became the third-best C student in Alabama at academic decathlon by first getting terrible grades. (playful) — 00:01:45
- 2015-02-24 · Who I Was in High School — John says he underachieved, skipped classes, skipped homework and reading and was always behind and stressed, while Hank got great grades and a college scholarship. — 00:01:55
- 2015-02-24 · Who I Was in High School — John says he was a much better student in college than in high school. — 00:02:51