As restrictions are lifted, what are the first things you want to do? Meet up with friends? Travel to the countryside for a long walk? Go outside for a picnic?
Perhaps you are looking forward to playing sport, attending big events or going to a museum.
We are missing the cultural and social activities that lie outside our homes - and our students are no exception.
People all over the world are excited about rejoining life, and that is something we should celebrate. It is also something we should learn from.
The blight of homework
Though this lockdown in an extreme example, every day we are denying students these opportunities through the assignation of homework.
Students are exhausted after a full day of school and still they are stuck inside, completing tasks that are often repetitive or dull.
The opportunity cost is that students can’t use this time to investigate, read, play sport, meet up with friends, bake, make art or practise an instrument.
There are a finite number of hours in a childhood - is homework the best use of this time?
It is not only the child’s quality of life we are adversely impacting with homework: it is the rest of the family’s, as well.
Family time
One positive that has emerged from this lockdown in many cases is that families have spent more time together and grown closer as a result.
Family time is precious, and as educators, we know that homework can be a source of great tension in a family.
Every year, we have parents concerned about the stress generated by forcing their kids to finish spelling sentences, complete pages of sums or practise grammar.
Some families end up in battle most nights. Rather than completing a jigsaw, playing games, talking, cooking or even watching TV together, there is a war being waged.
Not only can this cause disharmony, but this conflict does little to foster a child’s enthusiasm and love for learning.
And still, we assign homework.
Better ways and means
There are some benefits to homework, of course. It can encourage organisation and responsibility. It helps parents see what the students are learning.
These are positives, of course, but is homework the best way to achieve these goals?
A student packing their own bag and more regular communication from the school would achieve this.
Of course, for students in middle and high school, meaningful homework can build study skills, but especially for primary school children, there are many other skills we can and should prioritise.
This is not to say that no tasks should ever be done at home. There is a place for rich, meaningful, open-ended tasks that allow students to engage with learning.
Reading is important, too - let’s make more space for reading for pleasure by not assigning homework. Let’s give children the time to investigate and follow their passions so that mornings are filled with excited chatter about what the students did or learned.
A shift in attitude
It is time to change our attitude to homework.
We need to change our devotion to a system that robs hours from students every year.
As educators, as parents and as a society, we should learn lessons from our time in lockdown, and re-evaluate how we prioritise our time.
Our takeaway should be that we need to devote our time to things of value: exploring, growing as a person, enjoying the little things, being with friends, working as a team, celebrating, following our passions, creating art or music, imagining and dreaming, connecting with our family.
Homework simply isn’t worth the opportunity cost.
Our students have been trapped inside for weeks during this crisis. Let’s make sure that we do not keep them locked up each afternoon.
Jennie Devine is principal of St Louis International School in Milan, Italy
