Kids on the Way to the Park: Is Joy Stifled in School??
During the summer, I have the pleasure of listening to children as they travel to the playground.
The excitement can't be contained, talking, laughing, running!
"Come back!" "Don't go too far!" "Wait!", parents trying to contain them, understandably, not wanting them to go too far ahead.
The pure, unadulterated joy of going to the playground, of knowing what is a few feet ahead. The jungle gym, swings, seesaw, grass to run in!
And then I think about school compared to the playground. What awaits them in school? What awaits them in our classrooms? Do they come to school with the same sense of joy? Or do they drag ,dreading what awaits them?
Tons of worksheets, test prep, assessments, no recess, and/or absence of the arts?
Has school become a place of data overload, constant barrage of assessments, and strict DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: Kids on the Way to the Park: Is Joy Stifled in School??: