 "Outworn maps of consciousness, sometimes have to be re-drawn..." Trinity, The Lilac TIme
Having recently worked in several schools who are exploring the development of play within their practice, I've begun to notice a thread linking each one no matter where they are in the country. It's based around a concern over what parents might think to a more play-based approach in the classroom. It's a legitimate thing to be mindful of, primarily because most parents have a set view of what education is, based on their own experiences and 'story' of growing up. It's often embedded in the notion that tables and chairs, quiet and order are what learning is, what it looks like. I can also think of many teachers who share this view but that's another blog! In the times where I've been supporting schools and this concern has been raised, I've gone back to the analogy of the door into the magic realm of children which play opens for us. As we go in and further and deeper as teachers and practitioners, it is our role to call others to follow us, to show them that the door exists and sing the song of play loud enough so that they take those first tentative steps through it. If we don't do this then we keep the magic to ourselves and we inhibit the real power that play offers us - to change education from what it was and is to what it can be.
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