 |
 |
||||
|
|||||
Play = Learning ConferenceJune 10-11, 2005 Experts Hope to Affect Policy Changes and Reinstate Play in Education and Children's Lives
As a result, leading researchers are hosting a conference entitled PLAY = LEARNING at Yale University on June 10 and 11, 2005. Forty years of research tells us that play is crucially important to children's intellectual, social, emotional, and physical development. Play is the work of childhood, providing children with the opportunity to maximize their attention spans, master number concepts, prepare for reading, learn to get along with peers, cultivate their creativity, and work through their emotions. In today's fast-paced society, "play" is considered outmoded and useless, much to children's detriment. Research indicates that children's playtime is shrinking, down from 40% in 1981 to 25% in 1997. The number of children suffering from childhood obesity and hypertension is a national crisis. Possibly because many adults now have unrealistic expectations for children, the number of preschool children on medication continues to rise and preschool expulsion rates have become a national issue. To return play to the limelight, as well as to make recommendations for changes in policy, psychologists and educators from around the country will share their research on the benefits of play. They will highlight new findings on the pervasive and long-term effects of play. Unique for an academic conference, each speaker will also make policy recommendations -- based in the research -- that can help schools and practitioners in their quest to reintroduce play and joyful learning into our schoolrooms and our living rooms. We must change the dialogue about play. Right now, our testing and accountability standards in education focus narrowly on particular aspects of reading readiness, mathematics and vocabulary, and teachers are under tremendous pressure to encourage memorization. Memorization is also the focus of the billon dollar "educational" toy industry that encourages parents to spend their hard earned dollars on videos and electronic toys of unproven utility in promoting learning. The conference will get the word out that ordinary, everyday, unstructured play (which by the way, is free) is a huge factor in early learning -- in fact, play is learning. Play is a necessary ingredient for learning the social skills that serve as the bedrock for children¿s success in school. The keynote speaker at the conference is Edward Zigler, Ph.D., one of the founders of the Head Start program and arguably the dean of early childhood education. The organizers of the conference are also distinguished, internationally known researchers. Dorothy Singer, Ph.D., is an expert on the use of media and literacy and editor of the award winning book, Children's Play: The Roots of Reading. Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, Ph.D., and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D., are authors of the award winning book, Einstein Never Used Flashcards: How Children Really Learn and Why They Should Play More and Memorize Less. The book's slogan -- PLAY = LEARNING -- is the source of the conference's name. In attendance at the conference will be over 100 early childhood professionals, along with leaders in social policy. The conference is supported by Fisher-Price and a book by the same name, Play = Learning, will come out under the Oxford University Press label. For more information, contact:
Dr. Singer at
; 203-432-4565 |
|||||
Why are the best and brightest of our children arriving at college feeling "burned out"? Why is it that some preschools and kindergartens look like hothouses with children struggling to master intellectual tasks that are inappropriate for their age? Why are block corners being removed and replaced by desks and worksheets - in preschool? Why is play now often considered time unproductively spent? The answers to these questions stem from a single source: In its rush to create a generation of Einsteins, our culture has taken a wrong turn. It has forgotten about the importance of play for children¿s development.