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School's out! Italian mayor bans homework for summer

The Local Italy
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School's out! Italian mayor bans homework for summer
A mayor in Sardinia has banned kids from doing homework this summer. Photo: myaccountnice/Flickr

Schoolchildren may not usually pay attention to local politics, but you can bet the children in this Sardinian town will be pleased with their mayor's latest decree, which declared "obligatory holidays for children".

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Rather than spending their holiday doing homework in preparation for the next school year, the children of Mamoiada have been ordered to enjoy the summer months.

In his decree, the mayor of the central Sardinian town, Luciano Barone, made a few suggestions as to how their time off could be put to better use.

“I’ve asked them to go for long walks, to discover and savour the sunrise, to dance, to write and, above all, to read whatever they want and discuss it with others," he said, according to reports in La Nuova Sardegna.

"Good citizens should have a solid education which can't be gained from books alone," continued the decree, which is divided into 15 articles and is aimed at children of all ages, in Italian middle school (scuola media) as well as upper secondary school (scuola superiore).

"Children are always overloaded throughout the year, why can't we allow them at least during the holidays to be the architects of their own lives?"

Barone was inspired by a letter from a teacher at a local high school, which explained how he had carried out a similar initiative the previous year, urging children to make the most of their free time rather than do exercises for class.

And the mayor is determined to follow up his words with actions too. "I will be the guarantor of this evolution. I'm bound to this decree and at the end of summer I will check whether they have done their tasks."

"I expect that they will follow my advice."

 

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