Kelly Tribble (ktribble@coe.uga.edu)
Thu, 6 Aug 1998 12:42:31 -0500
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Date: Thu, 6 Aug 1998 12:42:31 -0500 From: Kelly Tribble <ktribble@coe.uga.edu> Subject: Re: [ifets] A Reply of Moderators to Mr. Mike Peay
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Vladimir and Olga wrote:
>Just one example. When our son was six, he came home from school and
>said:
>"We are just playing at school, nothing special !
>I prefer to study, because I can play at home".
>
>That is why we think that children should realize the difference
>between studying and playing. And it is up to a teacher to make the
>process of studying interesting and thrilling for kids.
Dr. E.P. Torrance, author of many books on creativity and learning, spoke
about the "work-play dichotomy." (1968) His point is that we tend to
categorieze activities into either "work" (studying is the work of
children) or "play". This in itself isn't so bad but it doesn't really
exist (at least here in the states) without the connotations associated
with it.
In other words, it is very typical for work/study/learning to be associated
as productive but difficult and not very fun -- and play to be associated
as unproductive but fun ("finish your homework and I'll let you play with
your friends"). I think it's sentences like that one that teach children
that their school work is to be thought of as burdensome and that play is
the reward for putting up with it.
Along with this is the misconception that children want to play and don't
want to work/study. Look into any 3rd or 4th grade classroom and you're
likely to see a bunch of children squirming in their seats, talking,
getting into trouble. It's easy to say "these children are just not good
at organisation and structure... they'd rather have the freedom to create
their own anarchy." But what happens when they run out to the playground?
The first thing they do is elect team leaders, democratically divide up
players, and proceed to play a game, (more or less) following professional
rules and standards. Kids can be very tough on people who cheat or try to
bend the rules.
I find it troublesome that people start out life not "knowing" that school
and study are not fun... and then we set them "straight" by our words and
actions. Every mammal in the animal kingdom plays to learn. All forms of
play are learning... but not all forms of learning are play. Perhaps we
should
Kelly Tribble
Multimedia Designer
College of Education Office of Information Technology
http://www.coe.uga.edu/
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