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But I really feel strongly that our kids do way too much homework. The research is on my side. It's easy to make a fuss when you're right. That can be the tagline of my life: 'It's Easy To Make A Fuss When You're Right.'

I've noticed with my own kids, it seems like they have so much more homework than I did.

Parents have to really talk to their children before they leave home.

But you know, there's something about the kids finishing their homework in a given day, working one-on-one, getting all this attention - they go home, they're finished. They don't stall, they don't do their homework in front of the TV.

One of the problems we have is children are not in school long enough in the day and during the year.

The best schools tend to have the best teachers, not to mention parents who supervise homework, so there is less need for self-organised learning. But where a child comes from a less supportive home environment, where there are family tensions perhaps, their schoolwork can suffer. They need to be taught to think and study for themselves.

The most important thing with children is to give them your time. Actually, that's all that matters.

Many think kids have lots of time and few responsibilities. And that's just not true. They are stressed and under pressure.

I think it's more and more important to spend time with your children, because it seems to be harder and harder for them to succeed as their parents have succeeded.

I do think that a school day that matches the work day makes a lot of difference for working families, but the big driver of this effort is education. Period. We have a lot of students not gaining the skills they need, and it is pretty clear that school does not offer enough time to get that job done.