However, what I would focus on is:
1. exercise or activity for amusement or recreation
2. to engage in a game or pastime
As you *might* have noticed, I'm currently a little obsessed with Ultimate and it has brought out some rather startling consequences...
The following is an excerpt from an admissions essay I wrote to the FSU. The topic was - "Tell us about your favourite quote, who said it and how it is meaningful to you":
Plato once said, “You can learn
more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation”.
This is entirely true and this truth was brought home to me in my current stint
as substitute teacher in my high school.
Indian classrooms usually
comprise upwards of 45 children and it is a challenge to ensure class control,
as well as finish the demanding curriculum. In this scenario, it is a practical
impossibility to understand or get to know each child in many ways. However, I
recently introduced Ultimate Frisbee to the school as an activity for free
periods and it has revealed a new side of my students which I would not see in
the classroom. Previously laconic students, who prefer not to answer questions
in class, blossom into individuals who exhibit different qualities on the
field. I probably wouldn’t be able to identify these qualities in the classroom
for even those children who do interact with the teacher. This has taught me
that Plato’s quotation is indeed true and for a teacher to truly understand his
students, he must play with them – both outside of and in the classroom. He
should strive to work with the joy of one who plays and then his students will
play with him!
One of my teachers in my current course always said, "Enjoy work as a child would enjoy play and it remains work no more." This rings so true.
One of the interesting outcomes of having played with students is...the children whom I appreciated on field and those who previously did not answer in class have now started participating in class! I suppose they saw a different side of me and when they went back into the classroom, they wished to give something back in return.
That's fantastic! A win-win situation all the way through!
You get your exercise done, you get to know your kids better and you get better responses from the kids! What more could one ask for?
Another interesting fallout from infecting everyone with Ultimate fever is that even some of the staff have been asking about the game. Two teachers in two days...this offers a great opportunity to showcase the teachers in a different light to the students. Rather than being two dimensional robots, they can transform into fun loving people and I'm sure the students' respect for them will rise!
We have a new German teacher (one of the people who's interested in playing) and I suggested that she play once with the current 7th year batch as she will teach them from next year. Being new, she's had some slight trouble with her classes but if we can expose her and her future students to each other in this informal way, there will be no ice to break when they go into formal classes next year. The Principal was quite happy at this idea...let's see how it works out.
I'm sure the results will be great!
Point to ponder: Would this work with adult learners? What does one play with them?
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