The subject of the story is the experience of a young boy named Kevin dealing with his home life as well as his schoolwork. The author describes an incident in which Kevin’s teacher punishes and humiliates him for not knowing the right answers.
One theme that cane be gathered from " The Exerxise" is How a fathers love and support can carry a childs through his/her hard times. For example, the author shows the deep and loving bond between Kevin and his dad when he describes how much the children love having their father home from work and how Kevin’s father tries to help him with schoolwork.
Hope this helps!