Homework Sucks

This year all four of us are taking Spanish lessons. Jacob and Lily have classes at school; Mike and I are taking adult classes. Mike and I believe that this year is an opportunity for us all to learn, expand our horizons, develop an international perspective blah, blah, righteous blah, blah.

My work…waiting to be done.

It’s all good except that I suck at homework.

Like many children, Jacob and Lily started to receive homework very early in their academic careers. Each afternoon they would come home from school and I would hover and nag them to have good study habits…do your work before you play, don’t have distractions, stay organized, don’t procrastinate. As the children received more difficult homework we encouraged them to go the extra mile, have somebody review their work, and never turn anything in late.

Lily doing Spanish homework.

For the first time since Jacob and Lily started school, I now have homework. After years of coaching the children you would think that I would be responsible, efficient and earnest in completing my deberes (homework in Spanish). Turns out that the maxim, “those who can’t do, teach” fits me to a T  (apologies if I just offended all the great teachers I know!!).

I suck at homework. I procrastinate, do the minimum, am sloppy and a couple of times have done the wrong assignment. When I first started doing homework back in September the procrastination and mediocrity immediately felt familiar. It was like discovering an old ugly sweatshirt and finding that it still fit and was still unflattering. Even as I write this I have homework to do and yet I am procrastinating by blogging.

Getting it done!

Jacob and Lily however come home from school, sit down at our dining room table and get to it. Until I had homework hanging over my head I didn’t realize what a good job they were doing. Watching them dig in is rather inspiring. They have started to say to me, “Mom, have you done your homework?” Often the answer is “No,” and then they mock me (which I deserve).

As the weeks pass I am improving, being more responsible about my homework and of course learning more Spanish. I am slowly regaining the moral high ground and this is of course far more important than learning dumb old Spanish!! Hmmpffff.