At Kino, we don’t assign busy work as homework. We respect the fact that kids have important things going on in their lives on weekends and in the evenings. Family time is very important. So are passions like dance; a need to be alone, to be with friends, to goof around; part-time jobs or volunteering.
However, plenty of time–by the student’s choice–school work spills out of school hours.
At Kino, we find that when a student is interested in a subject and has a choice in what subjects to pursue, then he or she will be more interested and active in learning about it. Ideally, a student will get caught up in a subject or a project and not want to stop working on it. Kids continue to read the books and write the stories that they’ve begun at school; they start rock collections; they get involved in political campaigns; they persuade their parents to buy an iguana. Groups meet outside of school for band practice, rehearsals and filming. Kids come to school over the weekend to work on shop projects, feed the animals, or work in the garden.
As students grow older, the work that they do independently becomes increasingly important.
Older students can structure their days so they have enough time at school to do their research, writing, art work, experiments, reading, etc. But once they’ve gone to their scheduled classes and met with the teachers who are mentoring their independent projects, they may choose to do the rest of their work at home. They can spend their school time in social interactions (with teachers as well as peers), go outside, play basketball, read to a little kid, make something in the art center, work on a computer, go on a field trip, get a book from the library, play cards with Mary Lou, work in the shop, play the piano, join a jam session, or sit in on a class.
An important way we show our respect for students is by letting them make those choices. Plus, budgeting time and taking deadlines seriously are important skills in themselves. They can’t be learned if we are budgeting students’ time for them.
When interesting schoolwork spills into the evening hours, and interesting life is going on at school, students see that learning is not an imposition that happens only under compulsion. They know that school is not separate from life — it is life.
