In my English class, my teacher decided to let us participate in Global School Play Day. This sounds normal, for younger children. For high school students, it seems a bit weird, right? Do high schoolers even know how to play without their phones? What would they do? Would they even enjoy it? Let me answer some of these questions for you.
For the day of play, I brought bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and a jump rope. Others brought board games, some brought balls to play sports, some even brought slime. There were so many different options to do, and each option brought happiness to at least a few students. It seemed as if all the students had a blast, personally I did. I enjoyed spending time with friends and having a little stress reliever moment in my day.
Playing was something that high schoolers aren’t used to. The only form of play we usually get is sports, but sometimes it doesn’t really work as a stress reliever. Getting the chance to play, without anything to worry about, was amazing. I don’t think anything should be done differently, because giving the freedom to the students to choose what they want to do is important. Often times, students feel out of control of what is going on in their lives, so giving them some control over something seems small but makes a huge impact.
From this experience, I have taken a few things and thoughts of my own. After watching the ted talk, I realized how important playing is for growing children. As a parent in the future, I will make sure to prioritize play time for my children, no matter their age. I worry that by the time I am older and have children of my own, the world will no longer be a safe space for my child to play outside in. Hopefully, the people living today see and understand the importance of play time for children and work towards making safer environment for them to do so.
Hau'oli 