Reading this column recently on the subject of homework I was struck by how big an issue it has been in our family for many years. Our three children are in secondary school and they work hard - but they are not angels! We regularly have difficulties linked to homework. Why should this be such a big issue for so many families and what can we do about it?
Teacher Adam Conway replies:
I can almost see half smiles and nods from parents reading your comments. I'm sure there are some students for whom homework is rarely a concern, as there must be parents who experience no crises, no bewilderment, no stress no heartache, no frustration over homework - but I am also confident these parents are a blissful minority. For most families, as for most teachers, homework raises more concerns than almost any other aspect of secondary education.
It is perhaps particularly noticeable how significant this issue is in Hong Kong because most readers of this column are professional parents paying for the education of their generally well-motivated, generally well-behaved and generally high-achieving children.
You are modest, and honest, enough to describe yours as 'not angels', but I would be willing to bet that you, and they, value education and intend to study long past the legal age for having to do so - 16 years old.
I will try in this column to at least partly address the full depth and complexity that lurks behind that one, very familiar word: homework. This column will deal later on with the many areas of difficulty and uncertainty generated from within the school itself, but first I want to raise some questions about students' routines and schedules outside formal school hours.