Homework and Family Life

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For many years, the American talk-show host, Jimmy Durante, signed off his radio and TV shows enigmatically with the phrase "Goodnight Mrs Calabash wherever you are!" He refused throughout his life to reveal who this lady was. Apart from the fact that like me, Mr Durante had a very large nose, I feel a kinship with him for the other reason that my own regular "Have a Restful Weekend" sign off became the subject of some idle attention among parents who have been teasing me about it over the past weeks. I will return briefly to this later.

I found myself this week in a situation familiar to the majority of you, either on a permanent or a weekly basis: managing the household in the absence of another parent. In my case, my significant other was overseas on a course all this week. The course ran from Monday to Friday. And yet, strangely, both weekends were deemed necessary to the trip.

Difficulty getting flights.

She tells me.

For those of you who do this on a regular basis, you have my sympathies; it is certainly not an easy furrow to plough alone.


And since I have had eight days of being "one of you", all the more reason to reiterate the message I have delivered at many curriculum evenings over the years regarding homework. I want to make the point again that on a given awkward week for you, please do not allow homework to cause an unpleasant atmosphere in your home. Many parents manage just one or two hours with their children each evening and very often this precious time is defined by arguments over homework. This is a great shame. Our children's days are not much different time-wise to an adult's working day - on the bus at 7.30, arriving home at 3.45 or 4.45 after activities. That they have deadlines to meet beyond that time is cruel and unusual punishment for some children while others take it in their stride.


Let me also explain what I am not saying. I am not saying that schools should accept shoddy homework from the students, nor that they should not follow up with them if they fail to submit homework at all. If homework is set, we would be doing the children a disservice were we to tolerate an à la carte approach to submitting it. You know best when it comes to making a decision on this kind of thing so please be open with the school and if there were other pressures at home that week, explain that you needed to be a parent and not the "homework police".


Right now, I need to figure out how, later, I can satisfy my three-year old's loud demands to push her on the swings faster, but not higher. Any suggestions?


Have a restful weekend; I doubt I will.


And goodnight Mrs O, wherever you are.



Brian