I don't know if teachers still do this, but there was a time when teachers would threaten misbehaving or underachieving students with the words, "Be careful, young man (or woman), because some day this may go on your Permanent Record." This threat was enough to strike fear in the hearts of conscientious students everywhere. But has anyone ever seen their Permanent Record? Has anyone ever suffered dire consequences after high school because of some notation made on their Permanent Record? Author and journalism professor Michael Shapiro decided to investigate the matter. He found out from a retired New York City schoolteacher that there really is such thing as a Permanent Record. So Shapiro went down to his old high school and asked to see his file. All his grades and academic information from kindergarten through high school were stored in one big file. His extracurricular activities were listed in the Permanent Record. According to his Permanent Record, he was a mediocre student without many distinguishing achievements. And yet, Shapiro found comfort in reading his Permanent Record. He knew that he had left behind that mediocrity and created a successful career for himself.