The dog ate my homework

An 8 year old girl in the US was given an award by her teacher for coming up with the most excuses for not having her homework done, and her mum is furious saying it’s tantamount to bullying.

 

Initially I must admit, I was a bit surprised at the award being handed out to the child, it seems like a cruel approach to prove a point, and it’s not the constructive criticism that I would hope for my own child. There are better ways for these things to be handled, through parent-teacher meetings, or with a letter or phone call home. However, for her mother to make such uproar about it, without accepting at least some of the responsibility is hardly fair. If the child regularly doesn’t hand up her homework, there is a genuine problem at home. And as the child is just 8 years old, this problem must fall at the feet of her parents. It’s all very well to sit back and give out about the teacher and the school, but at what point will this mother realise the problem is hers to fix?