Leave it to Community Playthings to convince me to break my rule against corporate sponsored teaching resources. Their new professional development guide The Wisdom of Play: Why Children at Play Are Their Own Best Teachers is outstanding. Their guide is free to anyone who asks. When school budgets are tight (as they are these days), it is tempting to use corporate sponsored materials. Usually these materials have one sole purpose: to further brand recognition and increase sales. With the publication and distribution of The Wisdom of Play, however, Community Playthings keeps the child – not the bottom line – at the center.
The ten short essays are written by a wide range of experts in the field, such as David Elkind, PhD, Stuart Brown, MD and early childhood teacher Sydney Gurewitz Clemens. There is information about current research from the Alliance for Childhood, and practical ideas for the classroom on nature, block building and open-ended play. The colorful photographs help convey the rich and inviting world of children at play. At a time when there are far too many companies making harmful inroads into our schools, Community Playthings does not market to children, and that, for me, makes all the difference. Their work supports good teaching practices and is a gift to the world of early childhood.
Contrast that to marketing plans such as Google’s Doodle4Google campaign in which elementary and secondary school children in Ireland were asked to design a new Google logo to be used on the website for St.Patrick’s Day. I learned about this tactic from the comprehensive report released by the Commercialism in Education Research Unit at Arizona State University – Click: The Twelfth Annual Report on Schoolhouse Trends:2008-2009. In the report, the authors explain that the Google lesson plan for young elementary students directed teachers to:
…write the word ‘Google’ on the board and show the pupils a print-out of the logo template. Explain that Google helps us find information when we are using the computer….Identify all the letters and colours in the Google logo.
Clearly, the aim of the lesson was to enmesh school children in the Google name. This is basically propaganda masquerading as educational curriculum. It happens all the time. If you are concerned about protecting students from devious marketing tactics like these, I urge you to read the Arizona State University’s report. It is one of the best resources around for combating exploitation – both blatant and hidden – of our children, and of schools in need.
Then take a look at Community Playthings’ The Wisdom of Play and see what genuine corporate responsibility looks like.
Can't wait to read this Geralyn! I requested it today