There was a child who spent most of her time roaming the stacks of homework, calculating formulas papers by papers. In the meantime, her mother was always criticizing the little girl for her not practicing the piano and dance. Every night she rushed to finish piles of studying; therefore, she barely had leisure to meet with friends, watch TV or even go out to play. This child is me. I have a monotonous over-scheduled childhood, Even I was versatile and somewhat strong in academics yet am diffident to talk with people, had no friends, and hardly knew any TV shows or movies. I wasn’t happy and always longed for plays. So is playing necessary?

Right now, my cat is chasing a mouse around the room. Instinctually, I’d think that he was trying to take a chomp on the little guy, since that is a cat thing. However, at least three times now, my cat cornered the mouse, picked it up in his mouth, walked over to his little den, put the mouse down, and continued chasing. This leads me to believe that he isn’t hunting the mouse—on the contrary, he’s playing with it. Yet, I’m doubtful that the mouse sees this as the same fun, lighthearted pursuit as the Himalayan.

During childhood, many habits are formed in the process of child development. This beginning period of life is often referred to as the foundation for development. No matter if the child’s childhood was miserable or exceptional, it has a deep impact on the formation of the type of person the child will grow into be. Play is impossible to restrain from any child because play, in all of its entirely, is essential for every childhood. Play instructs kids to approach problems in hopes to resolve the issue. Play enlightens children to communicate. Play is a discipline that helps to prepare children for life, in an innocent manner. However, play is never free due to constraint of society. 

           Play is an essential part of life. Through play, people learn empathy, trust, irony, and constructive ways to problem solve. Play can help individuals especially children learn about their talents, how to better regulate their emotions, and develop social skills. Play allows children to engage in all their senses and explore new places. Playing teaches children about how their bodies move and helps them become aware of their surroundings. The lessons and skills that are attained from play are extremely important, especially in child development, but they cannot be fully understood and effective if there is not some level of supervision that enforces structure and prevents harmful and dangerous activities from occurring.

Play Shouldn’t Be This Complicated

The Unknown began their last paper with “According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary play means, ‘to do activities for fun or enjoyment’ (Merriam Webster Dictionary 1). Though this definition sounds positive, I wonder, ‘Who's fun? Whose enjoyment?’” I think that this —what really is important about play—is a valid question to consider and it is a topic of constant debate in the many sources we’ve recently been reading.

The Dangers of Play

My mom always said that there was a clear difference in the way my brother played and in the way my sister and I played. As girls, she said we always prefered playing with dolls and stuffed animals while my brother prefered robot and car figures. She also said the way we played with the same toys was different, my brother being rougher on his toys than we were. However, I do remember that my brother loved to play on barbie.com, something my sister and I teased him mercilessly for. There currently exists a large market for gendered toys, with very strong advertising enforcing the rules of who can play with what. Because of this, it’s possible to argue that our exposure to media and advertising shape these differences in how we play.

Decentralization and the Oceanhill Brownsville Crisis

            In 1968 a series of three teacher strikes enacted by the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) occurred in opposition to the firing of ten Jewish school teachers by the newly predominantly black Oceanhill Brownsville, Brooklyn community school board. The community board was made possible by the policy of decentralization. Local school boards had been present in the school district of New York long before the Oceanhill Brownsville crisis, but the roles were advisory and only slightly administrative under the New York City board of education.