Pedagogy: Play and Measurement

10/02/21

I believe there’s an old and classic proverb, all work and no play makes [for] a dull individual – (individual rather than ‘boy’ – as it’s 2021, equal terminology is crucial).

So, if all work and no play makes one a dullard, surely play is the required dose of equilibrium? This, like in any other aspect of life, is increasingly important and pivotal within pedagogy.

Firstly, as we live and habituate in a digital age that continues to intensify, it is becoming increasingly harder to keep people engaged, let alone students. Thus, there’s clearly a reason behind why all work makes [for] a dull individual; each individual simply do not implement play into their process, and here lies the problem. But, there’s a reason for this. Through life, the common belief within society is to continuously work hard, strive to achieve, and by aiming to achieve, you must work work work! This is what we all know of as the burnout culture (Mora-Fandos, 2017; Han and Butler, 2015).

Well, I’m hear to preach and advocate what most know and are aware of, but will not practice, PLAY.

Within Truth & Method, Gadamer (1960; 2014), explains that play, in a nutshell, is an activity where specific or intentional behaviour is dismissed or not made conscious of. Work, in this case is almost, if not absolute, the complete opposite of play. However, as I regarded in the aforesaid, it is important, rather pivotal, that play is largely incorporated inside pedagogy. If we rewind back to the core and fundamental pasts of our encounter with education, going as far back to nursery, we see and realise that play was at the core and centre of our first tango with the idea of gaining knowledge and subsequently acquiring understanding (Sharna Olfman, 2003).

So, how do we become less of a dull individual, and more of a balanced person who is aware of fun, and how can it happily coincide with work? How do we measure this?
Well, this is where the educator comes in. The responsible individual tasked to help provide and impart knowledge and understanding; to let learn rather than just feed knowledge and education. Learning to play and knowing and understanding play, really and truly, begins with the educator. Gadamer touches on out of body experiences, stating that, “being out of oneself is the positive possibility of being wholly with something else” (1960; 2014, p.126).

Fundamentally, there’s are different ways one can and might interpret Gadamer’s statement. Personally, the way I perceive and understand Gadamer, in relation to pedagogy and student engagement, is to simply remove oneself away completely from the gravity of educating, an action that can be strenuous and rigid, and instead implementing a form of play that balances the somewhat mandatory methods and requirements of teaching/educating.

Ultimately, by being wholly with something else (Gadamer, 1960; 2014), you allow yourself to truly engage with your students, which is always a beautiful engagement.

T.

References & Citations

Clark, M.A., Michel, J.S., Zhdanova, L., Pui, S.Y. and Baltes, B.B. (2016). All Work and No Play? A Meta-Analytic Examination of the Correlates and Outcomes of Workaholism. Journal of Management, 42(7), pp.1836–1873.

Han, B.-C. and Butler, E. (2015). The burnout society. Stanford, California: Stanford Briefs, An Imprint Of Stanford University Press.

Hans-Georg Gadamer (2014). Truth and method. London: Bloomsbury Academic.

Howell, J. (1659). Paroimiographia. Proverbs. London: Samuel Thomson.

Mora-Fandos, (2017) Interpreting our cultural and personal malaises. Church, Communication and Culture, 2:3, 344-346.

Sharna Olfman (2003). All work and no play…how educational reforms are harming our preschoolers. Westport, Ct: Praeger.

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