There's a new homework 'guru' attracting publicity in the papers at the moment, Noel Janis-Norton. Shehas rules that help pupilsknuckle down totheir homework. In three weeks she can re-set bad habits, apparently.

The expert wants an hour's homeworka night for junior children, which I think excessive. Half an hour is surelyplenty after a day in school. Older children do have to work harder butI don't agree with week-end homework for any one.The rules include parental guidance and involvemen.

(This remindsme ofwhen I was inthe third form. My mother'sfriend reeled off all her daughter's exam marks from memory and thenmy mother asked me how I'd done in Latin.I toldher I'd 'dropped' it at the end of the first year and opted forFrench becauseI found iteasier. Ah, well, no harm done.)

I used to teacha Creative Writing module attended by (grown-up) students.The first time we met I asked themabout their aims and what they hoped to achieve. Then I showed themsamples of famous writers' work and askedif Icould see some oftheir workthe followingweek. This request was met withhurt and surprised looks. I soon discovered they disliked actually writing and sowe had to do it in class. Idon't know what they had expected- (a night out with a cup of tea, the warden told me.)

The class wasin a Portacabin and one night there was a parents' evening in the school to which we were attached. I'd seen parents rushing into the school eagerly and recognised some from years ago, the very ones who had shown no interest as pupils but were brimming with hope and expectations for their children.

The paradox with some parents is, that while they did not enjoy school themselves, they look to their children to give them a sort of second chance, even becoming 'pushy' parents.

My two children had different attitudes to homework. My older daughterwas a worrier and I had to tell her to put her books away. We both enjoyed poetry, not always school work, andwe often read a poem together atnight. I particularly liked'In Xanadu did Kubla Khana pleasure dome decree'.

My younger daughter's approach was different. Homework was tackled lying on the carpet, books in front of her,watching television. There was no poetry. She held to the opinion that there was no need for a long word when a short one was adequate. (I think she had a notebook with that inscription on it and it suited her style admirably.)

Whenexam revision was necessary we used a baby intercom, from her bedroom to mine. I'd get a buzz on the intercom to alert me to start asking the questions. In this way Ilearnt quite a bit about Boudicca, the warrior queen.