To play or not to play

[Amargith]

http://www.aeonmagazine.com/being-human/children-today-are-suffering-a-severe-deficit-of-play/

The article brings up some *very* valid points, imho, about whether the education of children is in fact hampering their abilities to deal with the reality in front of them after school. Loss of creativity, social skills, learning how to deal with ones own emotions, freedom from the pressure to non stop do what *others* tell you you should do, working out how to navigate life and the other players in it, and so on. All those things are being replaced because play is considered frivolous; yet it is how any young from any species learns the tools it needs to survive. Are you really prepping the young generation with the rigid diet of facts and q and a that we feed them today? That's what this article examines

 

[Vasilisa]

Great article, [MENTION=5494]Amargith[/MENTION]. I agree with much of it. I believe play is the first artwork. I would also say that adults need creativity, which is a form of play, in their lives for mental health.

 

[FDG]

Well, it's not like life is "optimized" for happiness. Both parents have to work all day, because those are (usually) the demands of today's economy, so children have to spend more time in school.

 

[Haven]

I played a lot as a kid. Cloud, Cid, and Barret from Final Fantasy VII taught me everything I needed to know about being a man.

Seriously though, I like this notion of letting kids be free and learn as they will. Ever since I left school I feel like I'm finally free to learn what's valuable in today's world instead of following some antiquated curriculum. Of course, I had to get the degree to land the job I'm in, but school actively inhibits the learning process.