Last modified: Tuesday, September 2, 2008 3:42 AM EDT REILLY: Answering the call of knowledge It's Tuesday, Sept. 2, and we all know what that means. Happy birthday, Terry Bradshaw! Oh, and it's also time for your children to go back to school. This will come as great surprise to the children, because they had no idea in June that we would actually be sending them back to school now. At least that's what they claimed when we asked about their summer reading lists. So it's back to the adventure of learning and all that it entails. The whining, the pouting, the attempts to weasel out of math homework, the stark fear when it comes to getting started on the science project. But enough about us parents. Let's talk about the kids. At this time of year it is natural for children to ask why they have to return to the classroom when they have been enjoying themselves for three months. As responsible parents, it's up to us to provide a good, solid answer to this question: NOBODY deserves to enjoy themselves for three months. But there is also the question of knowledge to consider. We know that it is very important for our children to grasp such vitally important facts as the grammatical function of the gerund, the date of the battle of Hastings and the importance of the cosine. We don't know why it is important to know these things, but we had to learn them and they have to learn them, too. And they can't learn about them too early. Kids in Japan and Sweden learn about gerunds, Hastings and cosines in preschool. By junior high, students in Stockholm and Tokyo are much more advanced than their average American counterparts, who, if pressed, may be able to name all the friends on his or her MySpace page. (A Japanese student, for example, who brings in anything as simple and basic as a fully functional atomic reactor for his high school science fair project is laughed at, bullied and has his lunch money stolen. And that's just by the teachers.) So it's important that we catch up with these foreign countries or we will all be using Swedish cell phones and driving Japanese cars. Homework's importance Experts agree that homework is a vital part of the educational process. To complete homework properly, it is important to find a neat, quiet, well-lit space in the household that is free of distractions and clutter. And if there is a place like that in my house, I'm taking it. Finally, it is important to have someone in our country who can articulate our highest educational goals and aspirations. That person, as I am sure many of you have already guessed, is Terry Bradshaw. Do NOT ask him about the cosine. TOM REILLY is a Sun Chronicle news editor who notes that September is also "Be Kind to Editors and Writers Month." No, really. He can be reached at 508-236-0332 or at treilly@thesunchronicle.com. Check out his blog at thesunchronicle.ning.com/profile/TomReilly