It has been extraordinarily exciting to see the conversation that has arisen around play the past few weeks. We’ve been hearing from many people about the role of a recess coach on the playground, which is why we were deeply gratified to read Playtime Is Over, a thoughtful, insightful op-ed in The New York Times by David Elkind. Dr. Elkind is professor emeritus of child development at Tufts University and has authored numerous books on the cognitive and social development of children and adolescents.
In his New York Times piece, he argues that childhood has changed so drastically in recent years that we need recess coaches in order to get kids playing in a healthy way again.
While we see the impact that coaches make at our schools, it is gratifying to see the academic side of the story, particularly from such an established expert. Dr. Elkind points out quite dramatically that the playgrounds we remember of our past are not the playgrounds of today.
“For children in past eras, participating in the culture of childhood was a socializing process. They learned to settle their own quarrels, to make and break their own rules, and to respect the rights of others. They learned that friends could be mean as well as kind, and that life was not always fair.
Now that most children no longer participate in this free-form experience — play dates arranged by parents are no substitute — their peer socialization has suffered. One tangible result of this lack of socialization is the increase in bullying, teasing and discrimination that we see in all too many of our schools.”
You can read the rest of his piece here. I’d love to hear what you think. Taking into account that kids are growing up not knowing how to play, how else can we get more healthy play in their days?
