I feel that Nelson brought to light many things that teachers and administrators may not like to think about these days. For years, the government pushed for a rigid and test oriented academic plans for students all around the country. They felt that this was the best way to ensure that all students were kept on pace, regardless of their background. From this article, it seems that they may have been way off base with this approach. While rigid schedules and testing may be helpful to keep some students on track, it seems that disadvantaged youth suffer from this way of teaching. For students who may not experience play and playfulness outside of school, this route does not allow for them to grow socially or gain insights and opinions about the world that they may have otherwise found. When children play, they learn about how others around them function, about how to effectively communicate, how to cooperate alongside others, and an abundance of other skill necessary to being a well functioning member of society.
When viewing play through a modern lense, even more opportunities arise. While I am not an advocate for children being thrown into the world of technology, I do feel that there are countless opportunities now available to engage and teach students through online games. There is an abundance of websites aimed at helping children learn to read, write, and practice math skills, among other things. This capability, along with the ability to play face-to-face, may go to waste if teachers and administrators decide that playfulness has no place in the classroom when, in reality, playfulness may be the key to engaging certain students.
When I look back on my childhood and my time in school, I can absolutely see where more play and playfulness would have been beneficial to me. I had the unique experience of being homeschooled for my first few academic years, which allowed me plenty of play. While in this environment, it seemed that I was able to focus well (as well as a child can, anyway). When I started to attend school, I felt myself struggling to keep my attention on my schoolwork, as well as I found myself having a hard time socially. I feel that b allowing more playfulness I would have felt more comfortable with my classmates, as well as my teacher. It also would have allowed for me to feel less constrained by the strict schedules we were told to follow, which would have, in turn, possibly made me feel more at ease and better focused. Playfulness and play not only allows children to become engaged in content, it also allows for them to feel comfortable in a place where comfort may not always be a priority.
Hi Cat,
ReplyDeleteI thought it was really interesting to read about your experience as you transitioned from being homeschooled to attending a school in person. Although I cannot fully understand being placed in your shoes, I can definitely see how playtime could have been beneficial to someone in your situation going from a very open/loose schedule to the strict ones that are in place in schools. I also think this is a challenge that many other kids face who are at schools in person. Many children struggle with staying focused, sitting at a desk all day long, and adhering to the strict schedules of schools. More playtime would allow these children to get some of their energy out, while still being a benefit to their learning development as we now understand through reading the Nelson article.
Another point you made in your post was in relation to standardized testing and test-oriented academic plans. There has been a wide debate on this topic over the years as to whether or not standardized testing is the best way to determine learning abilities. Some people see standardized testing as the best way to evaluate the learning abilities of their students and a way to determine what specific areas need more improvement on. Other people say that standardized testing cannot be an accurate measure of an individual’s intelligence because some people do not test well, the material is different than what is taught in the classroom, etc. In relation to this, there also seems to be a shift in teachers teaching to test well, rather than using valuable methods like playtime, online games, and others that also benefit children's education. I think it would be interesting to see now especially, since we have been in the pandemic and out of school the majority of the last two years, what standardized testing shows in children and how the results differ from when we were in person all the time.
I missed a few points of Nelson that you highlighted really well. Especially our countries standardized testing and how that can be helpful for some but not everyone. I know personally they were always a challenge as someone with a different learning style then most due to my Dyslexia. I like your point on how using technology could be Benefield and especially your point on not throwing children into the word of technology. Children definitely need some guidance or restrictions when first starting their use of technology to avoid dangerous sites and bad habits forming.
ReplyDeleteI found your last paragraph very interesting I spent a good portion of my childhood education online. This also gave me a good amount of play and keeping my imagination active especially of different scenarios I could find myself in. I struggled at first to focus on school and especially socialize. However not having all the rigid rules of elementary and high school made it easier, and I was able to adjust pretty well through watching how other took classes and socialized. I am very curious to study this topic more as I am curious on how home/online schooling and how more play especially in the sense of online communities could help someone world travel better. I wonder if the less rigid and more playful environment home/online schooling offers could help develop better critical thinking and observation skills due to needing to learn how to adjust when people would go off to college.