It seems that there are different definitions and purposes of "homework." In today's atmosphere of standards-based education and measurable accountability, homework often becomes essentially busy work: drill and practice of facts and skills, reading textbooks and answering questions posed by others, accumulating facts on topics that meet state-dictated standards.
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 believe 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.
Also, as students grow older, the work that they do independently becomes increasingly important. When our junior high and high school students write their evaluations at the end of the year, the things they remember as most important are the things they've done for themselves.
Older students can structure their days so they have enough time to do their research, writing, art work, experiments, reading, etc. while at school. 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, 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. They can see how far they can walk with anvils strapped to their feet. They can read to a little kid.
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.
So, on the one hand, we don't assign busy work. Busy work as homework is often disruptive to family tme and parent-child time. We recognize that familiies have important things going on in their lives on weekends and evenings. On the other hand. 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.
