With the closure of schools and the start of the Easter holidays, the 'homework nightmare' also begins for Italian children and young people (and for families). A tradition completely rejected by the pediatrician Italo Farnetani which, in no uncertain terms, defines i “useless, harmful and counterproductive” holiday homework. This is because – the Professor of Paediatrics at the Ludes University-United Campus of Malta explains to Adnkronos Salute – in addition to the objective difficulties in carrying out what is assigned for 40% of the students who will be travelling, the importance of rest must be taken into account , of the time necessary to consolidate family relationships, to be dedicated to movementto life in the open air, to extracurricular cultural and environmental knowledge which is very educational.
“The Easter holidays – underlines Farnetani – have always been experienced as the first moment of life in the open air to fully enjoy the beginning of spring, so much so that classically the Easter Monday trip 'out of town' belongs to the history of Italian society. Yes can estimate that 2 and a half million pupils from primary to upper secondary school (i.e. 40% of the total), who are assigned homework for the holidays, will be travelling. This means that a highly significant percentage of children will have difficulty carrying out what is assigned and carrying the teaching material with them. An element that teachers should consider.”
Furthermore, the doctor recalls, “the part of the school year that goes from Christmas to Easter is the one in which there is particularly intense teaching and learning. Some days of rest they therefore represent a valid form of nurturing resilience”. But the main reason for the pediatrician's opposition to the assignment of holiday tasks “is the fact that for children and adolescents the Easter period is particularly important for forming family and local roots, which will be important for future growth. They need to 'roots and wings' – reiterates Farnetani – and the Easter period is particularly significant because every locality, every city, every village has its own Easter traditions, religious and secular, which are the ones that form the roots, therefore it is good that adolescent children are free to live this period”.
According to the pediatrician, “not having the assistance of carrying out homework also helps you meet people more. Let's remember how harmful Covid has been in having 'frozen' relationships and social relations. The Easter period, however, facilitates going out and therefore meeting: it's better to take advantage of it.”
Furthermore, going out more “allows you to take more walks and thus combat sedentary lifestyle and isolation in general”, Farnetani points out.
Finally, on a strictly scholastic level, “the characteristic of these few days of vacation – he concludes – is that they are dotted with lunches, visits to relatives, outings or even trips. In this climate, homework is carried out in a distracted and listless way. This it is an uneducational element and therefore also counterproductive.”
#Easter #holiday #homework #pediatrician #Useless #harmful