03/04/2010

Play and Science

In 2007 the congressionally chartered National Research Council issued influential recommendations for improving K-8 science and made a pitch for introducing scientific study with children as young as four.  This message received a mixed reception in the early childhood community already concerned that the growing emphasis on academics is crowding out the playtime children need for healthy development.  But Kathy Hirsh-Pacek from Temple University observed in Education Week (January 20, 2010) that efforts to expand preschool science teaching need not necessarily conflict with young children's need for playtime.  Science can be taught in the context of play.  She notes:

"The people who are pure play people suggest that you need to have free play for young children, and I think the evidence is pretty clear on that.  But I also think the evidence is pretty clear that you don't just need to have free play for children.  There's free play and there's guided play.  You just have to be careful, because sometimes adults can become too intrusive and the play just stops."

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In his fascinating book, The Power of Play: How Spontaneous, Imaginative Activities Lead to Happier, Healthier Children, David Elkind argues that "Play is being silenced." According to Elkind, important, unstructured play is too often replaced in modern times by organized activities, academics, or passive leisure activities such as watching television and playing video games.  With clarity and insight, Elkind calls for society to bring back long recesses, encourage imagination, and let children develop their minds at a natural pace.

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