I read Fina Short’s column (Why kids are doing too much homework). As a new parent I would like to offer some words that I would hope to share with my teenager one day.

I certainly remember the frustration as a teenager after spending a whole day at school only to come home to rush through the homework. However, how is that different than what most American adults do every day? Most parents work more than the usual school day i.e. 32.5 hours + 10 hours of homework time. Then they come home to household duties and take care of their kids.

I believe the real problem is not the quantity of time spent with schoolwork, but the quality of education garnered from the homework assigned. Are the hours of homework you are completing each week providing you with value and preparing you for the adult world? If not, then I would argue that this is the core of the change that is needed.

Homework should help prepare students for what will come for them in the real world. It should provide more emphasis on economics, finance, political science, communication and negotiation, and other real life topics.

What kind of homework would I like for my son? A list of presidents and what they overcame to become leaders of our country. A list of businessmen who started from nothing, overcame bankruptcies and still practiced business with ethics. A list of mentors who are long gone who still speak wisdom to young minds . The knowledge is out there. It just requires a willingness to dedicate the time to learn it. I’d like my teenager one day to know, “Everything worth having is worth working for.”

Kyle Luna, Kirkland