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Learning on the Playground

by Mark E. Emmons, M.Ed. on July 21, 2011
Students and Teachers on the playground

Were you one of the kids who got picked last for kickball? I was, and I hated it, until I figured out how to beat the system. My Catholic school didn’t have equipment for recess games, so kids brought their own balls, bats, mitts, jump ropes, and so on. The person who brought the ball was captain and got to choose who was on his team. So I started bringing a kickball to recess, which meant I was always captain, and I was never picked last again.

I remembered this story when I took Curt Hinson’s pre-conference workshop, “Six Steps to a Trouble-Free Playground,” at the Responsive Classroom Schools Conference last week.  Dr. Hinson talked about how profoundly the games we play as children shape our social and emotional development—that was certainly true for me! When I was in elementary school, some of the things I learned on the playground were:

  • Winning is the most important thing. Most of us won’t win.
  • The people who are most skilled stay in the game longest, so they get the most practice and improve.
  • The people who are the least skilled spend the most time on the sidelines, so their skills don’t improve.

Dr. Hinson contends that the adults can structure recess in ways that encourage very different learnings. How much would children’s attitudes about physical fitness change if they were intrinsically motivated—for instance, if instead of playing to win, they played because mastering new skills is fun? For instance, imagine playing variations on “Duck, Duck, Goose” and “Musical Chairs” where everyone plays all the way to the end—no one ever gets out! Or a version of touch football that focuses on skill-building for all in a safe, supportive environment?

We played these games and others at the workshop, and they were definitely fun for adults. I’m sure they’d be fun for kids, too. So much of Hinson’s approach to recess aligns with the Responsive Classroom strategies I teach elementary educators to use: for instance, he talked about ensuring that activities are developmentally appropriate, making expectations and rules really, really clear, and teaching skills carefully, with lots of time for practice. He also talked about giving children limited choices in a way that echoes the Responsive Classroom practice called Academic Choice.

If you’re thinking about making changes to the way recess works (or doesn’t) at you school, I definitely recommend Curt Hinson as a speaker and the books and other resources he’s developed. In our workshop, he talked about an indoor recess kit that I’d love to check out!

Read the previous post, "RCSC 2011"

Submitted by Margaret Berry Wilson on July 21, 2011.

Mark,

Thanks for so honestly sharing your recess experiences—I'm sure they mirror those of many other adults. That is why the vision you hold that a different recess experience is possible for our students is so powerful. In addition to the reasons you name, moving away from elimination-type games is also essential for students' physical fitness!

Submitted by Lynn Majewski on July 22, 2011.

Thanks for sharing your experience in school and connections to Dr. Hinson.  I've had the opportunity to attend his workshop several times.  We used many of his ideas at my  school's  recess.  Creating versions of soccer, basketball, etc. that are played in small groups where the students get to practice skills and truly do what they enjoy the most- scoring goals, instead of those large groups where it's get the man with the ball.  We also used his Games Day idea to teach recess games to kids.  Using ideas from his books and workshop made recess a positive experience for the children.

Submitted by Elizabeth Nash on July 22, 2011.

 Mark, you've shared a lot of useful information in a concise and affecting way. Nice post!

Submitted by Jim Brissette on July 25, 2011.

Hi Mark -- I enjoyed reading your post and it triggered fond memories of recess for me. I was never the biggest or strongest or fastest, usually one of the average or smaller kids actually, but I held my own on the playground and loved recess . . . One thing I remember is for indoor recess, we learned square dancing and all the boys tried to partner with the tallest girl (who was the tallest in the class) because when we do-si-doed, we got to fly as she spun us off the ground! But I am now curious about what some of my friends who went to elementary school with me (way back in the 1960s) thought of recess. As a coach now, I found the insight that the most skilled get the most practice most jarring -- it seems so obvious once you read it, but in sports, most practice goes to the starters! That insight will change how I approach practices, to better ensure equal reps for all. Thanks again for the post, Jim

Submitted by Sarah Fillion on July 26, 2011.

I bet there are many students who have learned similar lessons that you did on the playground and use their own strategies to either avoid being picked last or avoid recess altogether.  The ideas you learned from the Responsive Classroom School Conference pre-conference workshop sound like they would alleviate a lot stress and anxiety from students.  Thank you for sharing the information and resources on where we can learn more about Six Steps to a Trouble-Free Playground. 

Submitted by Bethany Reyes on July 29, 2011.
These are some very good points that you have made here. I never thought about some of them before but what you say makes a lot of sense. This is going to be good if teachers get on the band wagon and take part.