The numbing ubiquity of human despair and political idiocy is enough to get a guy down. I spend far too much of my retired life with the New York Times on my lap. My privilege requires that I pay attention, despite knowing that I can’t do a damn thing about most of it.
It feels good to play, whether it be in physical games or mental ones. Use it or lose it, though, as they say; as you point out, by third grade we tend to squash all the inventiveness out of them. We have no good reason for this; education is too adult-centered and too handcuffed to the past. And yet, I've noticed in myself some stiffness in dealing with the antics of either grade boys, particularly. Do you have a piece on best practice there? Anyway, I bet it felt good to write about the play, as well. Happily, as a result of my play-centered approach to music, I have been asked by my administrators to incorporate even more movement in my music classes and continue to infuse them with songs in other languages, including ASL, so they now have me teaching k-2 music every day. It is gratifying to have the movement piece - the play element - valued "officially." Thank you for doing what you can every day.
It feels good to play, whether it be in physical games or mental ones. Use it or lose it, though, as they say; as you point out, by third grade we tend to squash all the inventiveness out of them. We have no good reason for this; education is too adult-centered and too handcuffed to the past. And yet, I've noticed in myself some stiffness in dealing with the antics of either grade boys, particularly. Do you have a piece on best practice there? Anyway, I bet it felt good to write about the play, as well. Happily, as a result of my play-centered approach to music, I have been asked by my administrators to incorporate even more movement in my music classes and continue to infuse them with songs in other languages, including ASL, so they now have me teaching k-2 music every day. It is gratifying to have the movement piece - the play element - valued "officially." Thank you for doing what you can every day.
I couldn't agree more with ALL of it!! Thank you!!
This is my favorite thing you've ever written! Play all the way! Shared to Linked In.