I am no expert on play, by which I mean I don't study it for a living. But...I took some courses on play as a freshman studying physical education and read some of the scholarly works of one of the great researchers in play, Johan Huizinga (deadly stuff which turned me off of the idea of becoming an academic in the field of human movement). And I have been coaching all of my adult life, which means I do think about sport and play a bit. So, you know, almost an expert.Anyway, what I most remember about play from school is this: animals have to play...humans included. And it's not just about "all work and no play...." Play, at every stage of life, teaches animals all kinds of important things they need to know about b
eing wolves or elephants or humans; it is a key element of appropriate physical and mental developmental. One of the most important aspects of play is that it teaches young wolves, elephants AND humans how to be successful members of their respective societies. Some researchers have found, in fact, that many people who commit murder apparently had no experience with constructive play as children. It's likely they missed some important lesson about hierarchy, submission and the consequences of acting on violent urges.So, it makes me wonder: Are we spending enough time playing? Would the world be a better place if we played more often? Or better yet, set aside our differences and played with groups we don't normally interact with like these two did: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHj82otCi7U&NR=1 ?
This is a really fascinating post. And a fascinating
ReplyDeletevideo as well. I am of the opinion that we will come to rue the day that parents took over such a supervisory role over their children's activities. Kids need to play in unstructured ways, to be bored, to find their own ways out
of boredom, and to learn the lessons that, as you say, competition and play can teach them.
I can't wait to read more. And I think this should be a public blog so I can link to it!