The end of the school year is one full month behind us . . . Independence Day weekend is history . . . and our Summer Programs are wrapping up another successful season. This seems like a perfect time to write about the importance of PLAY!
My letters in the Bulletin this past school year all related to our faculty's summer reading book, A Whole New Mind, and author Daniel Pink's proposal that there are six right-brained aptitudes that are necessary for success and fulfillment in the Conceptual Age of the 21st century. Previously, I wrote about how the aptitudes of Story and Design are present in the West Chester Friends School curriculum. The series continues here with the aptitude of Play.
According to Pink, one important aspect of the Conceptual Age is a move away from sober seriousness as a measure of ability. “‘Man the Player’ is as effective as ‘Man the Knower’ in getting the job done.”
“Play is becoming an important part of work, business, and personal well-being, its importance manifesting itself in three ways: games, humor, and joyfulness. Games, particularly computer and video games, have become a large and influential industry that is teaching whole-minded lessons to its customers and recruiting a new breed of whole-minded worker. Humor is showing itself to be an accurate marker for managerial effectiveness, emotional intelligence, and the thinking style characteristic of the brain’s right hemisphere. And joyfulness, as exemplified by unconditional laughter, is demonstrating its power to make us more productive and fulfilled. In the Conceptual Age . . . fun and games are not just fun and games – and laughter is not laughing matter.”
Each chapter is followed by a Portfolio of suggested ways that we can tap into the particular aptitude. Here are a few suggestions related to Play:
- Find a Laughter Club – a growing phenomenon of small groups of people who come together early each morning in parks and work places to spend a half hour laughing. My search revealed only two in Pennsylvania, and they are in Pittsburgh, but maybe the trend will spread our way.
- Play at Inventing – Pink observes that “the best inventors are playful (and) the best players are inventive” and he suggests that we see the “Invention at Play” exhibit in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. A traveling version of the exhibit is at the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg through the summer. The prominence of our annual Science, Invention and Technology Fair clearly demonstrates how important we think play and inventiveness are here at WCFS.
- Go Back to School – “The best way to get in touch with your inner child,” Pink writes, “is to take it outside for some play. So go back to school . . . or at least, back to the playground.” Pink suggests that we watch how kids play and that businesses hold staff retreats in a children’s museum or elementary school. Well . . . we’re already there!
Educators have long known the critical role of play in children’s learning experiences and the body of research to support its place in schools is considerable. Play – especially unstructured, loosely supervised play – fosters imagination, creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and self-confidence. It is essential for children’s healthy development, both physically and emotionally. Unfortunately, play is becoming less of a priority in schools across the country – even in many kindergarten classrooms – due to the increasing pressure for test preparation. Play during after-school hours is facing the same demise due to towering homework loads and busy activity schedules. (“Children’s Lack of Playtime Seen as Troubling Health, School Issue,” Education Week, published online November 17, 2008.)
At West Chester Friends School, play is an essential part of every day. It is evident in the way we schedule our time. It supports our emphasis on helping children develop interpersonal skills and self-reliance. And, for many students, it is often the best vehicle through which academic content becomes real and lasting. Here are some examples of how play is present in various classes at WCFS:
- Pre-K and Kindergarten – “A child’s work is play.” The whole day is based on play, with academics woven in. Children can often be found in dress-ups and housekeeping, playing out various imaginative roles.
- Grades 1 & 2 – Free Choice is a part of every day, fostering decision making skills and creativity. In addition to scheduled recess following lunch, these classes also take breaks for “runaround time.”
- Third graders “play” with cuisinaire rods, building structures and learning the relationship between the rods, not yet knowing that they will be used to more formally develop concepts necessary for multiplication, division, fractions and geometry.
- Student-led play at recess helps children learn and practice social skills. Fourth graders keep a recess journal to help them reflect on these experiences.
- Fifth graders lead groups of younger students through Cooperative Games Day, modeling and fostering collaboration.
It is fitting that Summer Sessions concluded today with a play. Now, I know that a scripted, rehearsed
performance is not the same thing as the free play described above. But in this play, Lightning Larry vanquished all of the bandits in a small Texas town by “shooting” their hearts with the light of happiness, friendship, and cooperation. May your summer days be lit with this same spirit.
Now, go on out to the yard, or the park, or the swimming pool . . . and just play!
[For more on the importance of play in child development, I recommend:
"Taking Play Seriously" -- an in-depth discussion of scientific research, including recent findings that suggest play is a central part of neurological growth and development. The author concludes that play "warrants a place in every child's day . . . that embraces all styles of play and that recognizes play as every bit as essential to healthful neurological development test-taking drills, Spanish lessons or Suzuki violin." (by Robin Marantz Henig, New York Times Magazine, February 17, 2008)
"Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills" -- a growing number of psychologists believe that the decline in unstructured play has a deteriating effect on the development of executive function, a set of skills that are a better predictor of success in school than IQ. (by Alix Spiegel, Morning Edition, National Public Radio, February 21, 2008)]
Posts
