Gary Eason. "Teachers Want Play-Based Learning." news.bbc.co.uk. April 17, 2006. web. 2/6/11.
Teachers in England want play to become part of their curriculum. Research has proven children learn more during play. Teachers are concerned that children are missing important lessons learned during play. The government in England acknowledges that play is important for children. It seems to me that the government knows that play-based learning will help, but blocks every effort to improve learning.
Teachers are becoming activists for the childrens' right to play. They complained that the government insists that children at the age of five must have a more formal education. Also on their list of complaints are playing fields are being sold off, overcrowded classrooms, no after school activities, fewer times to play during school time. And no time for teachers to play because of their responsibilities.
There has been more evidence gathered that lack of play will cause harm to children's health and well being. With today's children becoming overwhelmed by traditional school, I believe that it would cause harm to the children. Also, the teachers were alarmed to learn that the government plans to reduce the number of qualified teachers in nursery schools. The government states that it follows the guidelines. It seems to me the government is unbending and there isn't enough input regarding to government's reasons behind its decisions.
Tina:
ReplyDeleteGreat job here. I appreciate how both of your extended bibliography entries were focused around a particular subtopic-- the intersections between play and learning. This made me think about how play-based learning perhaps intersects or diverges from other methods in American classrooms. You state that the government in England blocks play-based learning; are things similar in the United States? Did you get a sense for why the government might prioritize particular types of learning at the expense of others? These topic areas could offer rich opportunities for continued focused research.
At the same time, I was interested in how your free-write raised issues about access and advertising. How are programs such as Head Start reaching out to their communities? Is it possible to improve this outreach in some way?
I really appreciate your thoughtful initial responses, and I'm excited to see how your work progresses from here. Keep it up!
They talked about play-learning in our orientation and I found it very interesting. I am glad you looked into it as I myself wanted to know more. It seems like a really good concept to me. Like you said as kids we grow up loathing school because it is so boring. When it comes to time to go to college students drop out because they think learning sucks. It would be interesting to find out if there is a school somewhere that uses play-based learning techniques in older children as well including High Schoolers and how their dropout rates compare to others. It’s a long shot and a little further along age wise that Head Starts children are but it might help to understand the benefits of that ideal. Not to mention it would be extremely interesting. I find it strange too that the government does not agree with the benefits of this program. I wonder why? Are there any studies on the benefits observed in those who learn this way? I wonder if that would make a difference in the government’s point of view. Great job. This really got me thinking.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to extend a bit off Riley's post. I'm also extremely curious about government intervention in education. I've spent some time thinking about it, but I'm not sure if I've given the issue quite as much thought as it deserves.
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