“RECESS is no longer child’s play. Schools around the country, concerned about bullying and arguments over the use of the equipment, are increasingly hiring ‘recess coaches’ to oversee students’ free time.” That, according to David Elkind, professor emeritus of child development at Tufts University, sharing his insight in a recent NY Times article entitled, “Playtime is Over.”
Bullying is a key theme of the children’s book that my daughter Rebekah and I wrote together, Drumming with Dexter: Drumming Through the Jungle. I wove it into the story because it is something that bothers me as a parent and as an arts integration facilitator. As Elkind points out, bullying has become a very significant and complex issue: “Bullying has always been with us, but it did not become prevalent enough to catch the attention of researchers until the 1970s, just as TV and then computers were moving childhood indoors. It is now recognized as a serious problem in all the advanced countries.” Elkind is careful to point out the positive side of technology, while driving home the point that the decline in peer-to-peer socialization is the key issue.
This type of socialization, that so many of us who are now parents grew up with, is largely absent for kids today. Several years ago I was having this exact discussion sitting on the front porch with one of my neighbors while my kids and his grand-kids played in the back yard. Most of us learned how to ‘play by the rules’ (the rules we made up), ‘work as a team’ (“one potato, two potato . . .”) work through disagreements (the unbiased “do-over”), deal with the occasional bully (“know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em”), all out in the backyard or park playing ball, kick the can, etc. There were no adults or “recess coaches” planning our activities that we could appeal to. If we wanted to keep playing together we had to figure out a way to work it out.
As Elkind points out, things are just not the same as when we grew up and we have to recognize that and deal with the new realities that our kids face today. But as parents, we have to continually wrestle with and assess the pros and cons of scheduling yet another “organized activity” for our kids, versus facilitating and environment where peer-to-peer socialization can occur. In this regard I strongly agree with Elkind’s observation, “To the extent that the [recess] coaches focus on play, give children freedom of choice about what they want to do, and stay out of the way as much as possible, they are likely a good influence.”
Ahh . . . now that is a beautiful definition of rhythm facilitation. It’s all about facilitating structured improvisation. Depending on the maturity of the particular group, initially, it is often necessary to provide basic direction and a foundational rhythm structure. This loose rhythm structure guides participants to play together while gaining confidence to freely express their own creativity. The ultimate goal of the rhythm facilitator is to guide the group to become as self-facilitating as possible. These types of experiences, like recess with “recess coaches,” may prove to be a necessary and effective way to empower children of today and tomorrow to reclaim a basic level of peer-to-peer socialization skills that will become key life-skills as they move into adulthood. (Click on link to read full NY Time article by David Elkind: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/27/opinion/27elkind.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y).
Ed Keegan
Rhythm Facilitator
rhythmconnect.com
