Homework at 40Something towers is a bit hit and miss, To be fair, Squeak who is 8, is extremely motivated and always has hers finished weeks before any deadline approaches. Happy and cheerful to be doing something new she will take a scatter gun approach to her projects. Very often she misses the point entirely and bounces in to school confidently expecting the teachers to believe she is a genius. The eternal optimist that is my daughter, is slowly learning to think things through and I have high hopes that at some point we will hand in a piece of work that has actually been requested.
Bubble on the other hand views homework as a kind of optional extra, and begrudges spending his time doing stuff he is not interested in. Should a topic take his fancy then he will cheerfully complete his project, before confining it to the back of his extraordinary brain never to be talked about again, often knowing more about the subject than I do. However if he is not interested in his homework then the scene at home resembles something from an emergency ward!. We have headaches, stomach aches, mystery pains and ailments, he is hungry, he needs the toilet, there is a program he must watch. He will use every delay tactic he can possibly think of, leaving it to the very last minute before ending up slumped over a piece of paper with a pen in his hand. Last night was a full on homework epic, I have given up suggesting he do a bit each week - so yet again Bubble did a terms project the night before it was due to be handed in. This meant a fairly late night for both of us, and as Monday morning is generally chaotic, needing military planning and a International peacekeepers beret, I was determined to be on the ball and not end up turning up at school with my pajamas on looking like something the delinquent dog frequently drags through the kitchen!
After my son had completed his heroic quest I decided to talk to him about school, and specifically what was happening at the moment. School received a terrible Ofsted report, and as a result, it is looking likely that the school will undergo a process called an "enforced" Academy status. This effectively privatises failing schools, and the government keep those schools doing well. Becoming an Academy is something the Governors of the school believe would have a negative impact on the children of the school, not to mention the whole board would be replaced by a team of 4 "experts" from the chosen sponsor, which would allow no local representation from parents, the church school or local community. There are petitions floating around, parents are being urged to write to Lord Nash, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for schools or to attend meetings where everything will be made clear.
As ever when dealing with children I make the effort to explain things in such a way that Bubble and Squeak can understand. So last nights conversation went something like this:
Me: "Bubble do you know anything about this Academy schools status thing?"
Bubble: "Yeah - it's because we got really good results in year 2 and now in 6 we are getting rubbish ones!"
Me: "Well I am not signing any of the petitions and stuff to try and keep the school as it is now, so if any one at school asks you to ask me to sign anything I am not doing it. As far as I can make out mate, It is a church group that will be taking over and they will put 4 of their own people in to oversee the transition, I am not at all religious, but I think morals with money might be ok."
Bubble has a sense of the ridiculous that equals my own and his eyes started twinkling,
"Mum does this mean that if we become an Academy there will be 4 nuns with guns patrolling the school saying "work harder boy!"
Me: "No...it's a Church of England trust, I don't think they have nuns, I think the 4 people would be a team of experts a bit like a SWAT team or the Men in Black"
Bubble " That's even cooler! I want Will Smith to patrol the school....In fact Nuns with Guns and Will Smith together will be even better!"
I really have no idea what will happen to our local school!
Thanks for reading xx
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