Whether it's choosing what to have for lunch, when to do their homework, or who is to be their closest friend, a child's good decision-making is essential to effective learning.
Citing research that this new approach to instruction significantly increases test scores, Ms. Paul shares her excitement that if homework assignments were to be based on the principles of M.B.E., we would see academic achievement soar.
"He said, 'Your muscles are weak, and your homework is to do strength training three times a week,' " said Ms. Milano, a teaching assistant in Cornwall, N.Y.
He says a Naropa education is as serious as you make it: "If your homework is to go spend some time being authentic with yourself, you can take that to heart and go for it, or not.
I asked my students whether, if homework were to completely disappear, they would be able achieve the same mastery of the material.
Looking back, I think my most difficult homework was to accept that I could never be the serious person that he wanted.
If you don't know what to say, ask her what the homework was, that is a great conversation starter!
In many cases, Mr. Weil said, that homework was probably being done on a computer, often online.
Homework is supposed to be a review of what has been taught in class to reinforce the concepts and ideas.
"One of the things that homework is supposed to do for us is help us generalize where we feel we can learn," he told me, adding that part of successful adult functioning is "matching the task to the context".
