The Mind At Play: Meta-skills and Adaptability

    In reading The World Traveling Self Play as Context and Tool of Critical Literacy by P. J. Nelsen, it is clear that the concept of "play" is the predominant overarching theme of the article. For that reason, it is necessary to understand the idea of "play" in relation to education in order to see how Nelsen believes that schools may improve themselves, creating better learning institutions for all students. The majority of schools push their prescriptive goals and ways of learning onto their students, forcing them to conform to rigid ideals. If there were more room for play, we could be looking at smaller achievement gaps, allowing for higher performance rates and meta-skills beyond the classroom.

    What does play look like in the classroom? 

   Play refers to creativity and imaginative play which contributes to increased levels of daily gratification, increased school readiness and greater adaptivity. Play does not look the same everywhere. Different zones of play lend to a variety of boundaries which may lead to more or less play-enabling environments based on student's interpretation of said rules. In schools, as enforced by the article, it is clear that there is a lack of emphasis and importance on the arts and physical education, and a central focus on subjects such as language arts and mathematics which tend to fall short in creating a space for play.

  Ever since I have been in school, it has been clear to me that I am a very creative and art/music loving student which has posed challenges for me in my studies. While the article extends the idea of play past standardized testing and refers to relations between play and ways of reading, I think about standardized testing right away as an example. These tests are created with very specific, rigid goals in mind. These goals are not suited towards all students, and it is not even a complete measure of a student themselves. Standardized tests do not test for creativity, adaptability, resilience, reliability, or individuality in any way. If play were kept in the forefront, there would be far less emphasis on things like the MCA or ACT and more emphasis on interpreting the world from unique perspectives and playing to create meta-skills which allow students to be adaptable, creative thinkers. 

   Reference: Nelsen, P. (1970, January 01). The World Traveling Self: Play as Context and Tool of Critical Literacy: Semantic Scholar. Retrieved January 21, 2021, from https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-World-Traveling-Self%3A-Play-as-Context-and-Tool-Nelsen/ae63d2b7cc0aa5b7315b2d84aec86849ddb9642f