“What has happened to preschool and kindergarten classrooms?” the authors ask (p. 34). Once a place where play was a major part of the day, more frequently is becoming a place where children do worksheets and teacher driven activities. Is this right? Research says no; teachers need to find a way to teach the whole child and give them plenty of time for play. This is most important for boys. This article talks about the importance of the social-emotional development of boys, suggests ways that teachers can plan their daily schedule, and encourages teachers to collect data as a way of identifying and better meeting boys’ needs (p. 35).
Early childhood pioneers formulated theories that encouraged teachers to support students’ “physical, cognitive, and social-emotional growth by providing hands-on materials, manipulatives, indoor and outdoor play spaces, props for dramatic play, construction toys, and more” (p. 35). It was widely accepted that through play, children could obtain skills that would prepare them for formal learning tasks required later on in school. More recently, a number of schools have changed focus to a more “academic driven” philosophy - structured lessons, seat work and worksheets, missing the need for students, especially boys, to learn needed skills in a natural way through play and relationship building. “When active learning through play is the primary mode for interaction, children evidence notable strides in cognitive and linguistic domains (Rowen, Byrne, & Winter 1980: Miller & Almon 2009)” (p. 40).
I have seen this time and time again in personal experiences with preschoolers. Generally speaking, boys are more likely to be engaged in active play over sitting down drawing or writing. Giving them a chance to explore a variety of centers allows the students to learn in a hands-on manner that is more interesting, engaging, and cognitively challenging than having the students be taught from worksheets or teacher directed lessons. Doing observations and assessments in the play environment often gives me a truer picture of what the students’ strengths and weaknesses are, than had I taken them out of the environment into a situation where they might not feel as comfortable and safe.
I think it is important for teaching programs to emphasize the importance of play and the role it plays in the development of young learners’ social, emotional, and academic skills. Perhaps advocates of structured preschool and kindergarten classes will come to see the important skills that are being left out of the students’ education and how that will affect the students later on in life.
Gropper, N, Hinitz, B, Sprung, B, & Froschi, M. (2011). Helping young boys be successful learners in today's early childhood classrooms. Young Children, 66(1), 34-41.
