The Case for Play

The Case for Play
How a handful of researchers are trying to save childhood.

...The emphasis on standardized testing, on attempting to constantly monitor, measure, and quantify what students learn, has forced teachers to spend more of the school day engaged in so-called direct instruction and has substantially reduced or eliminated opportunities that children have for exploring, interacting, and learning on their own. Recess has, in many districts, vanished from the schedule entirely. After school, parents shuttle their kids from activity to activity, depriving them of unstructured time alone or with friends.

That matters, according to researchers, not just because play reduces stress and makes children more socially competent—which evidence suggests that it does. It matters also because play supposedly improves working memory and self-regulation; in other words, it makes kids sharper and better-behaved. So, ironically, by shortchanging them on play in favor of academics, we may actually be inhibiting their development....

....Within the world of those who take play seriously, there are multiple camps, each with its own dearly held tenets. There are the Free Players, who argue that play is a human right and that adults should more or less leave kids alone. There are the Play Skeptics, who see play as useful for blowing off steam but are dubious about its cognitive upside. And there are Play Moderates, who advocate a mix of free play, adult-guided play, and traditional classroom instruction.

...Vygotsky viewed play, particularly pretend play, as a critical part of childhood, allowing a child, as he said in one oft-repeated quote, to stand "a head taller than himself." His biggest theoretical contribution may have been the Zone of Proximal Development: the idea that children are capable of a range of achievement during each stage of their lives. In the right environment, and with the right guidance (which was later dubbed "scaffolding"), children can perform at the top of that range.

...The students in the play-based school scored better on cognitive flexibility, self-control, and working memory—attributes of "executive function," which has been consistently linked to academic achievement....

....Whether children play enough isn't an obscure debate among developmental psychologists. If it's true that children who spend too little time playing struggle with executive function, then we may be raising a generation of kids with less self-control, shorter attention spans, and poorer memory skills...

..."The right answer is less programming and more opportunities for kids to make up things on their own."

...40 cities have expressed interest in holding their own Ultimate Block Parties. She and her colleagues will soon unveil a Web site to promote play research, and more books are on the way. Their goal, she says, is to restore play to its rightful, respected place in the lives of children. "Even if we don't understand it perfectly, it's silly to take play away from society," she says. "It's like taking love away. It's crazy."

Does Anything Beat Sled Riding?

Tinkering School

Tinkering School founder, Gever Tulley has a new book: Fifty Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Children Do). It got a modest mention in the NY Times. I especially like the one dangerous thing: Take appliances apart. I plan on doing this with my son at the next opportunity.

Private Park?

My son had soccer in Terrace Park last week. The place is very nice, but kinda creeped me out. This sign at the park is an indication of what is wrong.
 

I especially like the no climbing rule. And they had some good climbing trees too.

Kids Hanging on Fountain Sq

 

Then they made "salad"
 

Teachers Oppose Recess

At least the teacher's union does:

COLUMBUS, Ohio – At the urging of school groups, the Ohio Senate has removed a provision from a childhood obesity bill that would require students to get at least 30 minutes of exercise per day while in school.

..."We can't solve every social problem at the school door" said Darold Johnson of the Ohio Federation of Teachers. "We need to do what we do well, and that's educate."

Jeff McCuen, treasurer of Worthington City Schools near Columbus, said the 30-minute exercise requirement would cost the district $4 million and take time away from core classes. ...

State Sen. Kevin Coughlin, a Republican from Cuyahoga Falls, agreed to take the exercise requirement out of his bill and instead allow districts to obtain a waiver. But he added that society rightfully asks a lot of public schools. "While I share the view that parents have responsibilities on all these things, I can also have the view that our schools should be doing the right stuff while our students are in there nine months a year, seven hours a day," he said....

I really don't understand why the kids cannot get an hour for lunch and recess combined. The teachers should take their lunch at that time, and the school day should be extended half an hour. We are not asking the teachers to teach longer hours, just be at the school longer and take a mandatory lunch break. A better lunch and recess would help my son enormously at school. And he is not abnormal. Kids need to run around.

Good Park Report

I'm sitting her in Ziegler park with a dozen happy children running
around playing tag. The air is cool and the sky is deep blue. The
sun warms me and the other parents as we sit around on this lazy
Saturday evening.

It is a pretty dramatic contrast from the report of drinking at
Washington Park a few days ago.

Since or son was 3, he has called this the "spongy ground" playground
because the AstroTurf under the playset is extra rubbery.

No one is drinking here this evening. Ther is a lively basketball
game inthe block south, about 50 yards away, and there are 3 or 4
groups of adults sitting around the perimeter of the park chatting and
laughing while the kids play.

There was some kind of film crew here filming actors walking down the
street, while kids followed.

We don't come over to this playground that often, so we don't know any
of the kids. But after a few minutes both of them have made new
friends. My daughter will pick out a girl that she thinks she will
like and walk right up to her and ask to be friends. My son is not so
direct and will try to ease into a game of some kind.

It is a gorgeous evening, most idylic, with birds singing, new green
on the trees, all with a golden glow of the setting sun.

Ther are no fights, no anger, no drugs, no sirens, no loud music, very
little traffic noise, and even a sweet smell in the air that is the
mixture of a barbecue grille, blossoms, perfume and a distant
cigarette all mixed in the fresh spring air.

Time to finish this phone blog post and gather kids for a walk home, supper and hot bath.

walking to park
 

music video filming
 

spongy ground
 

Idle Parenting = Happy Childhood

Refreshing article that may become a movement:

We reject the idea that parenting requires hard work
We pledge to leave our children alone
That should mean that they leave us alone, too
We reject the rampant consumerism that invades children from the moment they are born
We read them poetry and fantastic stories without morals
We drink alcohol without guilt
We reject the inner Puritan
We fill the house with music and laughter
We don't waste money on family days out and holidays
We lie in bed for as long as possible
We try not to interfere
We push them into the garden and shut the door so that we can clean the house
We both work as little as possible, particularly when the kids are small
Time is more important than money
Happy mess is better than miserable tidiness
Down with school
We fill the house with music and merriment

Igloo in Over the Rhine

 

A 12 foot wide sidewalk is sometimes big enough for a playground.

Snow People

Pirate snow boy:
 

princess snow girl:
 

4th Grade Boy in NYC 1971

... I live at 25 W 68th Street. It's an old apartment building. But it's got one of the best elevators in NYC. ...Our apartment is on the 12th floor...

... We live near Central Park. On nice days I like to play there after school. I'm allowed to walk over by myself as long as I'm going to be with friends. My mother doesn't want me hanging around the park alone.

For one thing, Jimmy Fargo has been mugged three times - twice for his bicycle and once for his money. Only he didn't have any to give the muggers.

I've never been mugged. But sooner or later I probably will be. My father's told me what to do. Give the muggers whatever they want and try not to get hit on the head.

Sometimes after you're mugged, you get to go to police headquarters. You look at a bunch of pictures of crooks to see if you can recognise the guys that mugged you.

I think it would be neat to look at all those pictures. It's not that I want to get mugged, because that could be really scary. It's just that Jimmy Fargo's always talking about his visit to police headquarters.

My father got mugged once in a subway by two girls and a guy. They took his wallet and his briefcase. He still travels around by subways but my mother doesn't. She sticks to buses and taxis.

Both my mother and father are always warning me not to talk to strangers in the park. Because a lot of dope-pushers hang around there. But taking dope is even dumber than smoking, so nobody's gong to hook me!

We live on the west side of the park. If I want to get to the zoo and the pony carts I have to walk all the way through to the east side. ....

On Sundays the park is closed to traffic and you can ride your bicycle all over without worrying about being run down by some crazy driver...

Me and Jimmy have this special group of rocks where we like to play when we're in the park. We play secret agent up there....

-Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Judy Blume 1971

I wondered about her description of the family's life in New York, and was surprised to see this quote from her on her website:

Though I still lived in suburban New Jersey, I set the book in New York City, in the building where my best friend, Mary Weaver, lived with her family. I changed the address but the elevator I describe in the book with its mirrored wall and upholstered bench is exactly as it was, and still is, in Mary’s building.

Out Sledding

 

gone sledding 2 

Recess Before Lunch

My kids often return from school with their lunchboxes still full. They say there is not enough time to eat, and they rush outside to play for their already minimal recess time. This article in the Hamilton Journal News. I agree, but also think the whole recess and lunch time should be expanded and the school day lengthened at least half an hour:

...“Teachers and researchers saw better behavior at and after meal time when it followed recess,”

...many districts curtailed or cut recess time to better deal with testing mandates from the No Child Left Behind Act.

...the recess reduction actually takes away from a child’s ability to function in a classroom.

...According to the study, teachers and researchers saw better behavior at and after meal time when it followed recess.

...The CDC, the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Food Service Management Institute and Action for Healthy Kids support the “Recess Before Lunch” initiative.

...“Finding time to engage in social interactions helps children better communicate, share and cooperate,” ...

Garfield Jungle Gym

 

Regarding Labor Day, Garfield apparently said "Labor Must be Free".

Slow Schools

In yesterday's New York Times Magazine Peggy Orenstein wrote about the rise of testing and academics and the demise of play in kindergarten. Her article, Kindergarten Cram makes a strong case for the restoration of play.

“Maybe the current economic retrenchment will trigger a new perspective on early education, something similar to the movement toward local, sustainable, organic food. Call it Slow Schools. After all, part of what got us into this mess was valuing achievement, speed and results over ethics, thoughtfulness and responsibility.”

Tetherball Washington Park

 

We brought the tetherball setup out into the park Sunday, and it attracted a constant stream of players, even a few adults. Not sure what the Park Board would think about it, but I plan on continuing to set it up most days with good weather.

Snow Play

Last year I posted some great kids playing in the snow photos. So far this year I haven't taken many because I've been at work a lot while they play. Here are a couple from yesterday. The snow is so beautiful in the city, and I love how quiet everything is when it is falling hard. It is always surprising how nearly all the streets of OTR are untreated. Vine Street is a snow emergency street and it is kept pretty clean, but beyond that, expect good sledding conditions ...in the middle of the street!

Kids at Oktoberfest

rids racing on lawn

a security guard cleared kids off the grass every so often:

playing duck duck goose:

kids dancing:

Unstructured Recess Disappearing

Last year, I reported that recess was being eliminated at many local schools.

Now the Washington Post reports that local schools have hired a non-profit group to organize play on the playground. And this group has plans to expand across the country promoting structured play during recess:

...Traditionally the one period of the school day when children are free of adult-imposed structure, recess is increasingly regarded by educators as a trouble spot. They say that in the Xbox- and Internet-dominated world of many students, the culture of healthy group play has eroded, turning recess into a chaotic and sometimes violent period where strife from the schoolyard can spill over into afternoon classes

... designated areas, marked ...with small orange pylons or chalk lines on the asphalt. There was "snowball alley" (a dialed-back version of dodge ball), jump rope, three-on-three basketball and foursquare. Disputes are resolved by rock-paper-scissors.

... she started to observe schoolyards, it struck her that games fell apart quickly and that slights easily escalated into serious conflicts.

"Knowing how to play in a healthy way is not an innate skill. It's learned,"

Children Need Daydreaming Practice

...Because the children were rarely bored - at least, when a television was nearby - they never learned how to use their own imagination as a form of entertainment. "The capacity to daydream enables a person to fill empty time with an enjoyable activity that can be carried on anywhere," Belton says. "But that's a skill that requires real practice. Too many kids never get the practice."

... not all daydreams seem to inspire creativity. In his experiments, Schooler ... found that individuals who are unaware of their own daydreaming while it's happening don't seem to exhibit increased creativity.

"The point is that it's not enough to just daydream," Schooler says. "Letting your mind drift off is the easy part. The hard part is maintaining enough awareness so that even when you start to daydream you can interrupt yourself and notice a creative insight."

-Boston Globe