Play - what is it? I had the opportunity to find out as I spent several hours "watching" children at "play". The first thing I found out is that play is not an activity, as is commonly thought! Instead, I found out that it is most definitely a state of being, an attitude, a state of mind. People can be at play any time of the day, anywhere, and under almost any circumstances. People can be at play on a sports field, on a playground, in a classroom, at a movie, while listening to a lecture, while walking through a park, or even while carrying out the duties of their daily jobs. As far as a human's mind can wander, there the limits of play extend.
To some people, throwing a ball back and forth or drawing a freeform picture or singing a song is definitely not play. Some people find these "recreational" activities difficult, time-consuming, and boring. To them they are far more strenuous tasks than digging ditches and far from being considered as "play". To others, tasks such as writing a profound essay, or developing a computer program, or hand-digging a foundation for a house are sufficiently enjoyable that they are considered as play. Obviously, with such a wide range of interpretations about what play "really" is, it will be very difficult to establish a common definition for the purpose of discussing play and playleadership. Therefore, the definition I suggest is "Play: an unobligated, undirected, spontaneous, free experience which is considered enjoyable by the individual who experiences it".
Although play is indulged in by people of all ages and of all types, I will center this paper on the play experiences of children and specifically on the encouragement and assistance we can provide to enhance children's opportunities to engage in more and merrier play experiences.
Often, when people talk about children's play, they tend to categorize the type of play according to the location in which it is carried out. However, instead of talking about indoor play or athletic field play, or water play or playground play, I want to talk about children's play in general and the role of leadership in this type of play. But first, before I discuss the nature of children's play, I must surely consider the nature of children.
Children - what are they? Are they small, unkempt, noisy, inconsiderate, impolite hellions? Are they dangerous, scheming, cunning, crafty con‑artists? Are they innocent, cuddly, warmhearted, loveable teddy bears? Are they naive, misguided, misunderstood, misinterpreted waifs? Or are they delightful, lively, evil, unnecessary, miserable, nuisances? Or are they the most important end-product of existence?
All these adjectives have been applied to children by people who have been very serious in their designations. However, any and all of these descriptions, when taken by themselves, can only be inaccurate. For the truth is that children are every one of these things and more. Children are surely composites of all of the qualities and characteristics that are possessed by homo sapiens in general. In fact, I believe what children really are is nothing more, nothing less than people.
"What's that?" you say, "People?"
Yes, you read correctly. Children are indeed people, just like you and me and the senior citizens and the hippies. Children are people! And as people they are not to be stereotyped and disregarded and shunned. They, just as much as anyone else, have the right to be thought of as individuals not as members of some minority group which is sometimes feared, sometimes pampered, and usually discriminated against. Therefore, I must begin my opinion by discarding our views of children as underlings or subhumans or animals who must earn the right to be "people". Instead, we must see children as part-owners of the universe who, just as much as anyone else, have a "right to be here" and deserve to be treated with the same degree of respect as all others, from kings to beggars.
Although this idea (the child as a human) is foreign to probably 80% of our population (maybe not foreign in theory but certainly in practice), it is a concept which I must accept and truly incorporate in order to continue this view of children's play. At this stage of "thinking" for this paper, I wanted to know more about the wisdom of children and acquaint myself with one of the creatures. I watched how they moved, listened to their speech, watched the expressions on faces, felt the skin on their hands, and learned what they really are. I looked at them not from the point of view of "what can I teach them about life" or "how can I help to mold, shape, and discipline them so that they can become a mature, productive, part of society?" Instead, I looked at them as equals, as someone who is (certainly biologically) almost an exact carbon-copy of ourselves. And knowing that they are so close to us in makeup, I tried to remember that we, too, were once children as well. Reflecting, I remembered my feelings, my thoughts, my fears, and my perceptions of being a second-class citizen in a grown-up's world. I tried, as though my life depended upon it, to feel some genuine respect for and empathy with that child as a fellow human being. We must commit ourselves to take a second look at something which has become so commonplace to us and so well‑understood (at least on the surface) that we have possibly stopped trying to learn more about it.
Now that I have observed an actual child, my next step is to develop some theoretical understanding of the makeup of the child. I chose developmental psychology in order to gain some understanding of the physical, emotional, intellectual, and social development of children as they progress through the years. I reminded myself of the experiences that all children must pass through as they grow up, and I recalled the significant effect that childhood experiences can have on adult life. I explored the more basic characteristics of the child - those which are innate and instinctual, those which prove the very basic animal nature of the child. I also studied the loftier, more "noble" side of this charming brand of creature, and then I looked at all of the characteristics which lie between these two extremes. When I finally completed the study of the descriptive aspects of these children, I tested my understanding of the "child" again on other real examples of this delightful form of life. Finally, I was really able to "feel" what it is to be a child when we can truly "experience" with them their deepest and most subtle emotions. I am now more ready to talk about what the child needs, what play experiences are right for them, and what, if any, are the values of playleadership to them.
To continue, and to say in terms of what play means to children, I will simply state that play is an extremely important aspect of a child's life. Play for the child can invlove intense, violent, exhuberant action. It can involve serious, emotion-packed role-playing. It can involve tight and close personal interactions with others, and it can involve, on the whole, every aspect of life which grownups live. Viewed in this light, play is seen as one of the most important determinants of what our children (and, therefore, our society) will be like. The combined facts that children are important individuals and that play is a highly significant part of their lives point out again the truth that the kind of play experiences that children have are perhaps equally as significant as the unemployment rates, the gross national product, the level of national health care and the health of our economy. Play is a serious matter and the opportunities that we provide for it are far more worthy of our consideration than we have allowed ourselves to realize.
Almost everything that children learn during their first six years is learned through play. Only personal habits - eating, sleeping, going to the toilet - are, as a rule, deliberately taught. A child's appreciation of this world and the reactions to it, the ability to coordinate muscles, to build and create, to live with other people and to become a citizen of the community are all the outgrowths of the hours spent at play. In these early years, play is almost the whole life, and the child works very hard at it.
I observed that a child plays whole-heartedly; putting heart and soul into play, and becoming completely absorbed in it. The child plays spontaneously and is a self-starter. It is very rare that a preschooler will ask his Mommie "What shall I do now?". I also observed that the child plays purposefully: trying to achieve something, and based on the results of his/her efforts develops personal reactions which will become part of the personality. The child plays buoyantly, and is always hopeful, easily encouraged, and delighted with praise. The child always plays happily, having supreme satisfaction in doing so, and is of course, very proud of the results.
In my observation I found that these are some principles on which successful play can be built. Successful play is play which teaches the child as much as he/she can comfortably learn about things, people, him/herself, and human behaviour. The personality pattern is formed by the child's and other people's reactions. A child who gets everything he/she wants by crying is laying the foundation for a lifetime of whining. The child who is encouraged to make his/her own decisions freely and happily and accept the results is learning emotional stability.
I believe that physical vitality, creative activity and emotional growth are achieved through play. In each child the balance of these factors will vary from that in all other children, and will vary within him/herself own at different periods of life. One of the most challenging problems to a parent, I believe, is to gauge the fluctuating place of the child's physical, mental, and emotional growth. The toy the child loves most this week may be discarded next week. The activity the child starts with great enthusisam may be abandoned because it is too difficult or fails to challenge with adventure. Even the words the child learned so rapidly over the last few months may be half forgotten and learning to talk may lag for weeks at a time because the child has discovered something else more interesting. These seemingly pointless fluctuations, I believe, have good reasons behind them. The wise playleader who observes, accepts and contributes to a child's play development is likely to be rewarded with a well-adjusted child.
In this light, I want to look at the needs of the child which might be expressed through play and could potentially be met by a playleader. First, what is a playleader? I suggest that most of all, a playleader must be a warm and understanding humanitarian and, secondly, the playleader must "be" a child in the ability to experience situations and to understand where others are in their experience. The leader could be a parent, caregiver, or teacher. The leader must not be a "judge" but a guide, one who walks along beside the children and shows them the possibilities, paths, and alternatives. The leader must be content to stay in the background, confident that by doing so he/she is helping to provide the best opportunity for the child to broaden horizons, to experience, to grow, and to become more complete. In many ways, the playleader must have goals in the development of the child. The playleader must relate to the real needs of the children as people, not as the behaviour-shaping parent. The playleader I observed was a parent, and I thought she served as a very healthy example of one that provides a framework for the child, one who allows the children to experience their humanness, and she certainly is obligated to contribute to a sound society.
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