No actual grading in our house either, and not a happy home. I was the oldest of 6 and expected to help with the other kids and taking care of the house and I tried to blend into the woodwork. My dad was in the military, a tyrant, an alcoholic. And my mother was a doormat trying to please my dad or sick in bed with a headache. They acted, for the most part, that they didn't even like us. It's amazing that most of us turned out ok.