Mr. Rogers once said, “Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning.” So I challenge you, why should play ever stop being about learning? Certainly this quote is referring to the fact that for children, play is often experimentation. Experimentation that results in worthwhile lessons being self-taught. Sure, they are simple lessons like, don't eat sand or fire is hot, but, nonetheless, they are lessons that must be learned. But our lessons have changed. They have become weightier. As we grow so too do our lessons.
Often, getting older means that play transitions to relaxation. The ways we have fun become less about going outside and more about enjoying a Netflix marathon or a good book. These are merely grown versions of play, so why can we not use them to learn? If a child can learn a lesson from the asphalt, can we not learn lessons from the screen or the page?
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I think the most important component of playing productively is having the right content. No one is learning anything from the latest Michael Bay movie just as no child is learning anything from staring into the sun. There is, however, content available that is conducive to educational play.
Take the movie “Birdman,” for example. It is, just as much as "Transformers 4," a movie that takes almost no effort to watch. The difference lies in the fact that "Birdman: has lessons for us. It brings up important questions about the nature of fame, challenges us to question the relationship between passion and talent, and works even on a surface level as a rudimentary family drama. I can watch this film knowing that I have in no way wasted my time. I have simultaneously been productive and done nothing at all. It is a delightful paradox.
Next let’s take a look at books. Those few remaining people who read for fun—this is for you. Reading is almost never a wasted form of play. However, I ask you, should we not look to continually improve the level at which we learn? It is not enough that we read; it is essential that we read quality literature. This does not mean that the books have to be difficult. "The Hunger Games" is both a fun book and a good book. It has lessons about perceptions of others, class structure and addresses the concept of the unfair one percent with subtlety. It is additionally an action-packed character driven thrill ride. Compare this to, say, the "Divergent" series; also an action-packed character driven thrill ride. It also takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting. It shares many similarities with "Hunger Games," so why does it feel much more empty? The few lessons it attempts to teach are forgotten by the second installment and any pretense of coherent structure is abandoned by the third. But, this is not a review of either of these book series, this is a review of how we address play. My point is: read good books. Learn good things. In this, play is made into growth.
So, the next time someone tells you that playing is a waste of time or you should do something more productive than sitting around and watching movies all day, be able to hold steadfast in the fact that your downtime is not misplaced. It is not time wasted. The next time you need a break, put on a good movie, read a good book and make Mr. Rogers proud.
