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 who, in no uncertain terms, defines holiday homework as “useless, harmful and counterproductive”. 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 dedicate to movement, to 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), to whom homework is assigned for the holidays, will be travelling. This means that a highly significant percentage of children will have difficulty carry out what is assigned and bring the teaching material with you. 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. A few days of rest therefore represent a form of encouragement to nourish 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 have need for '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 those that form the roots, therefore it is good that adolescent children are free to experience this period.”
According to the pediatrician, “not having the assistance of carrying out homework also helps to meet people more. Let's remember how harmful Covid has been in having 'frozen' relationships and social relationships. The Easter period, on the other hand, facilitates the outings and therefore the meetings: better to take advantage of them”.
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.”