The first resource is the brief, yet compelling argument that play is innate (Is Children’s Play Innate?) presented by City College Professor Bill Crain and published in the current issue of Encounter: Education for Meaning and Social Justice (Vol. 23, No. 2.).  Crain lays out his theory through looking closely at three lines of research and concludes, “when contemporary educators reduce playtime, they might be frustrating an innate need.” Consider this excerpt:

Additional evidence that play is innate comes from George Eisen’s little-known (1988) account of children in the ghettos and concentration camps of the Holocaust. One might suppose that the children’s hunger, fear, and anguish would have completely suppressed their desire to play, but this didn’t happen. Summarizing the diaries and reports of Holocaust victims, Eisen (1988, 66) says, “Play burst forth spontaneously and uncontrollably without regard to the external situation.” Lacking manufactured toys, the children made their own — out of mud, snow, rags, and pieces of wood. When a skeptical interviewer asked a girl how she could have played in Auschwitz, her face lit up and she said, “But I played! I played with nothing!With the snow! With the balls of snow!” (p. 72)

I was impressed with Crain’s reasoning when he shared his thoughts at the In Defense of Childhood conference back in March. I have been telling others about this amazing Holocaust story and have continued to ponder his ideas. I am thankful to have a written piece to contemplate and pass along.

The second resource is the essay Core Standards in Kindergarten by teacher Dr. Eric Gidseg  in the current issue of Collage published by Community Playthings. The entire issue is dedicated to the Common Core Standards and the implications for early childhood. Gidseg eloquently uses the story of his young student Gabe to illustrate a very real struggle that kindergarten teachers are facing everyday:

Gabe is a bright little boy in my kindergarten class with sparkling blue eyes and loads of enthusiasm and energy. He knows just about everything that there is to know about fire engines and rescue vehicles. He can stand before a classroom of five-year-olds, show his detailed drawings of a ladder truck, and describe how it is used by firefighters when they attack a fire. Over the course of this school year Gabe has taken just about every book on firefighting and fire equipment out of the school library. Gabe is not yet secure, however, in the connection between the letters of the alphabet and their sounds, nor is he able to count beyond the number 15 without becoming confused and repeating himself. This is in spite of daily classroom experiences and instruction to support such learning, differentiated for his current level of achievement.

I am faced with a challenge. I know from more than 30 years of experience as a kindergarten teacher that there’s nothing wrong with Gabe—that he will learn to read and count perfectly well, given time and encouragement. But he has not met the standards that have been created to guide kindergarten instruction and learning. This child will have a failing report card if I cannot help him to master these skills. In spite of my long experience, I am unsure of myself as I am forced into an increasingly didactic role with children like Gabe. In all likelihood I can get Gabe to develop these skills, but at what cost?

I am thankful to Gidseg for shining a spotlight on this struggle, and for sticking with the fight. We need experienced teacher such as him, working with our youngest children. More and more experienced early childhood teachers, who know what is possible and what is right, are leaving the profession heart-broken. They take with them decades of experience and deep knowledge about how to create environments where young children thrive and learn and grow – and want to be.

The third great find comes from the US Play Coalition, and the announcement that registration is now open for The Conference on the Value of Play set to take place at Clemson University February 6th – 9th:

The Conference on the Value of Play will emphasize the health and educational implications of play while still focusing on the role of parks and recreation in facilitating play for all. We are thrilled to have Dr. Joe Frost, Parker Centennial Professor Emeritus from the University of Texas, serving as the Honorary Chair of the Program Committee for The Conference on the Value of Play. Dr. Frost and the program committee are working to create a program that will include nationally acclaimed keynote speakers who will address the role of play in facilitating physical and emotional health, cognitive and educational success, and overall quality of life for people of all ages.

There you have it…three great finds for the fight to protect play. If you know of others, please send them this way!

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