Friday, 13 December 2019

Red and Blue New World


Ask anyone with a child in school and they’ll tell you: there’s too much homework. In spite of a dearth of evidence that more homework equals better academic achievement, the assignments keep escalating. One school in Ireland, at least, is taking a step back. For the entire month of December, none of the kids at Gaelscoil Mhíchíl Uí Choileáin, Clonakilty, Ireland (please don’t ask me to pronounce that) do any homework. Instead, they commit acts of kindness. Mondays are for reaching out to the elderly. Tuesdays they’ll help out at home without being asked. Wednesdays are for random acts of kindness of any kind. Thursdays are for nurturing mental and emotional well-being. The students keep track in kindness diaries, and excerpts are read aloud on Fridays. The school has been doing this sort of thing for three years running, and they report results of "overwhelming success and positivity."

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