The Homework Virus

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Today’s Blog Post

The Homework Virus
Last Sunday Evening I arrived back in Peterborough at about 8 PM. We had been in Ottawa for a few days. And while we were there I had received a call from my Granddaughter – she needed help with her homework… and Grandpa is the one that she wanted to help her draw a certain picture.

When I arrived at her home it was almost 9 PM. The Homework project was laid out of the front room floor. All the pieces of her homework were ready. She had already prepared a ton of work that had to be glued into place for the final presentation on Monday morning.

This project took Mom, Dad, Emma and Grandpa Lincoln to get it all done – late Sunday evening. I had messed up the process by being away all weekend. The piece that I was doing for her wasn’t ready until just before the assembly.

THIS IS the HOMEWORK NIGHTMARE… or HN.

Right now Canada and other places in the world are suffering from the Flu entitled H1N1.

Families across the world are suffering from a greater problem called the HN – the Homework Nightmare.

In Calgary, Tom Milley and his wife Shelli are lawyers. With some creativity they have brokered a deal/contract with their children’s School Board that now means their kids will have little or no Homework.

From the Star Phoenix in Saskatoon, Sask. it is reported their kids…
“Spencer, 11, and sister Brittany, 10, could spend up to three hours a night completing math problems and word lists with the help of their parents.” End quote.

Tom and Shelli both were getting their Grade 6 & 7 all over again working along side their kids doing the homework with them.

I am convinced that the HN Virus is an affliction given to Parents so that they will now re-learn their own homework that THEY DIDN’T DO when they were young.

BUT it seems silly to have a kid doing 3 hours of homework while in Grade 6.

In my granddaughter’s case – it was the whole weekend… and needed three adults to help her.

Incidentally – WE – as a team of Homework Doers got a very high A+ when Emma presented her project on “Wilfrid Laurier” in French to here Social Studies Class. Wilfrid Laurier is the dude on our Blue Five Dollar Bills.

I never ever got A+ in any subject when I was in Grade 6… But I did this time! Wahoo. And now I know about Wilfrid Laurier!

BTW I love doing Homework with the kids…. It seems to prevent the early stages of Dementia that my other friends are suffering from.

There is lots of discussion on the issue of HN… and how it is affecting families and their quality of life.

This past week I taught an art class in a public school for two mornings. The first morning I assigned the kids Homework to draw their own hand. Groan… “We all ready have Homework!” was their reply.

My response was, “But this is fun!” About two thirds of the kids did the project… and they were good!

As I drove from my granddaughter’s home… I thought long and hard about Homework. I asked my self what I was now doing in this area of HN.

This past week I have been doing HN each night to better myself. As I looked at it – I have tons of work to get done. I will be marked on it this weekend… and the next… and this Christmas as I do the Wood Carvings.

One wood carving has to be done today. It is for Hunter Smith and it is Hunter Smith. Hunter is dieing because of cancer and the wood carving is planned to be a blessing to him and his wife this Christmas. My neighbor has ordered this one. It has to be done today – because Hunter may not be here at Christmas time.

There are another six Teddy Bears that MUST BE ready this next week. Ordered a while ago… now need to be delivered to England and all parts of Canada! Oh boy!

So THREE CHEERS for Tom and Shelli… I think. But Homework is Fun!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
www.murraylincoln.com/

Source:
http://www.edmontonsun.com/news/alberta/2009/11/20/11826376-sun.html
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/life/Calgary+family+signs+homework+deal/2241272/story.html