Play or Prison?
Growing up, I had the privilege of attending schools that had a mixture of wealthy kids, underprivileged kids, and then the ones who were in the middle. I had friends who went to other schools in which the majority of the children were unfortunately underprivileged. The good thing about going to a school where there were not very many children who are underprivileged allowed for a more nurturing and growing experience, which is what every child needs, right? Unfortunately, nowadays children are not receiving the adequate amount of growth and nurturing experiences that they need in order to mature in to their independent lives. According to John Dewey, “Education is thus a fostering, a nurturing, a cultivating, process” (Dewey, 173). His beliefs go hand in hand with mine considering I too believe that school should be more nurturing of the whole child, and not just the children who come from “better” schools than others.
I believe that children need to learn how to “play” rather than be told to sit still and look at one teacher and four walls for six or seven hours a day, which to anyone sounds like life in a prison. According to an assistant professor of early childhood education at the University of Illinois, Haeny Yoon, “Play is well documented as a purposeful, authentic way for children to engage in literacy practices” (Yoon, 1). This means, play is a great way for children who are en route to developing social skills, learning knew words and pronunciation to serve as a form of “writing”. Allowing children to interact with each other is a good way to develop independence and accepted and respected social skills that are necessary for the society that we live in. I do not believe we are giving our children enough recess or play time for them to develop these skills on their own. Unfortunately as a consequence, learning is no longer fun to them. According to a blog from Sharon Taylor, “Constructive play is an important part of the cognitive, physical, and socio-emotional development of children” (Taylor, 1).
I believe in raising each generation and each school consistent to the one I grew up in where kindergarten has different centers for practicing what the kids have learned. It is important for each child to be taught these exact same things and not just one school here and there. Children in general are important. Not just the children who come from upper class families. Not just the ones who come from schools with more money, but the whole child is important. In my discussion with my classmates this past week, Mr. Wilder brought it to my attention that Jefferson’s thoughts about the classroom were contrary to Dewey’s beliefs in that he viewed school as being a little more competitive and based off of which child knows more than the other. This made me realize how sad it is to see how education is becoming so serious for children at such an early age and so competitive to where it would single someone out to make them feel like they are less of a person than someone who was taught a different or “better” way.
Dewey, J. (1938). Education and experience.
Taylor, S (2012). Playing to Learn in Kindergarten. Available at:http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/classroom-solutions/2012/01/playing-learn-kindergarten
Yoon, H. (2014). Can I Play with You? The Intersection of Play and Writing in a Kindergarten Classroom. Available at:http://cie.sagepub.com/content/15/2/109.short
