Children's Play in Education

With age came responsibilities and I just forgot the essence of play. I recall play was such a wonderful activity which I enjoyed being emotionally, mentally, and physically engaged. It was filled with intrinsic motivation, which now I struggle to find a lot in many activities. Maybe now I am an adult, no play exists in my life except work. Being a child has it's own luxury, the luxury to play. Back then I didn't mind being adventurous and taking risk. It was all about the process and now all I find is work which demands reasonable risk and best outcome. So, why did I stop playing? I discovered the answer after my third session in EAS409. The growing age provided me duties. It was the end of delight and intrinsic motivation when I lost the autonomy to choose what I wanted to play, and grownups told me that playing is not learning. To learn, I need to get a book. I guess that's why I stopped playing. This reflection made me understand how factors such as chronological age, i...

When I was a little child, I would always pick pretend play above other plays. One of my favourite pretend play memories is when I was seven years old and played the role of a teacher. I remember how I used cardboard as a greenboard and charcoal as my chalk, even though it left my hands dirty and black. I gave my friends the old magazine pages to copy the misspelt and nonsensical words from the cardboard that I scribbled with all the confidence I had as a teacher. It seems funny that my friends followed all of my instructions, just like the students do in the class. Then I corrected their incomprehensible handwriting as though I knew it all. I also made comments and gave stars which my friends loved just as much as I did pretending to be a teacher. When I reflect on this play memory, it seems to me that I have manifested my future self or it was an indication that I would actually become a teacher, which is why I find it so significant.  Looking back, that simple act of pretend pla...