Are All the Questions Done?

 Dear Koko, 

The lifelong struggle of mother and son has begun - homework, homework and more homework! It seems like a never ending saga, where you try to get out of work and I try to best you at your game. We have all done it, disclosing only as much is needed, artfully hiding facts, giving out half truths as per your own convenience. For generations children have duped their mothers so. 

So I will tell you what happened a couple of days back. You had to complete your Kannada homework and there were a number of questions to be done - around four or five. Now while I make an impression that I am checking your work, to be honest I cannot tell one letter from the other in Kannada. the script is just pictures to me and I am quite illiterate when it comes to this language. So mostly I have to go by what you tell me. So I tell you "Koko you have this homework and you gotta complete it". 

You begrudgingly sit down. You make five trips to the bathroom, sharpen your pencil twice, drink water, get bribed with some candy, play a phone game before you start your work. And while you are working you are single minded, you sit for 30 mins and you declare you are done. 

I ask you, "you did all five questions?" 

You proudly say yes. 

I am impressed, the handwriting, which is the source of all the complaints, also seems quite good. So I say you're done and then off you go. I even tell your teacher that you have completed all the pending work. Then you return and tell me why would i tell your teacher that you completed all your work, you got scolded because of that. 

So I am surprised - but you did complete it, didn't you?

It is only then that I learn that you have just copied the five questions from your book to your notebook, the answers, well they were not written by you! Alright mister, I shall be clearer with my instructions next time. 

Love,

Ma