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Different Perspective on Play
April 13, 2009
My mission is not merely to survive, but to thrive, and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.
-Maya Angelou
-Maya Angelou
"...one of the hallmarks of play is that it appears purposeless. But the pervasiveness of play throughout nature argues that the activity must have some purpose after all. Animals don't have much leeway for wasteful behaviors. Most live in demanding environments in which they have to compete to find food, compete with other species, and compete to mate successfully. Why would they waste time and energy in nonproductive activity like play? Sometimes play activity is even dangerous. Mountain goats bound playfully along rock faces thousands of feet high, and sometimes they fall....
"As a scientist I know that a behavior this pervasive throughout human culture and across the evolutionary spectrum most likely has a survival value. Otherwise, it would have been eliminated through natural selection. All else being equal, mountain goats that are not inclined to play would survive better (they wouldn't fall off the cliff doing some unnecessary stunt) and would pass on their genes more successfully. Over time, if play had no benefit, the playful goats would be pushed out of the gene pool by the offspring of the nonplayers. But that is not what happens, so there must be some advantage to play that offsets the greater risk of death in playful goats....
"The real question, then, is why and how play is useful.... Play lets animals learn about their environments and the rules of engagement with friend and foe. Playful interaction allows a penalty-free rehearsal of the normal give-and-take necessary in social groups."
Exchange has packaged six of its play resources into a single Play Tool Kit and is offering the entire set at a 37% discount. Resources in the kit include:
Books:
- Beginnings Workshops Book #6 - Play
- Promoting the Value of Play CD Book
- Play and the Outdoors: What's New Under the Sun
- But They're Only Playing: Interpreting Play to Parents
- Supporting Constructive Play in the Wild
- Designing and Creating Natural Play Environments
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Comments (6)
Displaying 5 of 6 Comments [ View all ]Videatives, Inc.
Amherst, MA, United States
I can support David's call for a holistic look at play and an openness to finding meaning that is not reduced to theory already printed in books. Common sense and the teacher's intuitions come from broad experiences of great value. I also support the new emphasis on intentionality for teachers of young children. For a long while we have treated play as recess, a time where children are just children and a time for teachers to take a well deserved break from the children. However, if we do not observe carefully and think about the significance of play we will not be articulate advocates for its survival, which is in great jeopardy with high stakes testing looming everywhere. Play is no less than self-directed learning. Any school that desires to have a play based curriculum will need to express themselves with a professional level discourse about play.
Grassroots Playscapes
Honolulu, HI, United States
Sometimes it is just as simple as looking. Just watch how kids play without adult intervention in developing countires. It often comes quite naturally. In American culture, it seems that we are not comfortable with a subject unless we can derive its meaning from a text book evaluation. I'm not advocating ignorance, I'm just hoping people can relax long enough to not feel they have to reinvent their entire concept of play overnight.
Videatives, Inc.
Amherst, MA, United States
If we value play isn't it helpful to know what function it serves?
If we want to avoid assuming that our perspective as tantamount to the child's perspective, don't we still need to use our adult intelligence to figure out the difference?
If we want to know what the child's wants is it really so simply as looking?
Grassroots Playscapes
Honolulu, HI, United States
Interesting observations, but do we really need to qualify the reasons for play to legitimize its presence in a child's life? Everyone has their own reason for jumping on the bandwagon of outdoor play, but I seriously feel that all of our good intentions can lead us to an adult’s perspective – not a child’s. We are slowly getting out of a dark period of play that was almost entirely defined by kinesthetic activities through commercial products. I would hate to see a repeat of this scenario. Just watch and listen. Kids will show you what they want.
www.videatives.com
Amherst, MA, United States
Correction:
Sorry, The last few sentences in my post above should read:
In the process he still learns about the mass of the bowling pin, something he was not likely to learn if he had been serious about using the ball. So the "survial value" of play is the way it allows us to change the goals and thereby study the means in negotiating the physical and social world.
George Forman, President
Videatives, Inc.
www.videatives.com
See What Children Know™
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