So I asserted yesterday that school “teaches children that learning is work, work is not fun, and play is frivolous “
There’s a ton to unpack in that statement, and this post won’t get all the way to the heart of it, but I thought we’d begin exploring this one by really examining those key words, “work”, “learning”, and “play” and their connotations, and how those connotations shape our lives.
Let’s start with the word “work.” How does that word make you feel? Does it feel heavy or light? Do you associate creativity or drudgery with the noun, “work”? Is work ever fun? When I Google “work”, I get these definitions:
“a task or tasks to be undertaken; something a person or thing has to do.”
“activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.”
Even those two definitions feel very different to me. Which feels lighter to you? Lens matters, and the language we use shapes that lens, don’t you think? When I think of something I have to do, it tends to feel heavy. But if I am doing something that involves effort to achieve a purpose, that seems meaningful and can be really energizing—this feels very different to me than the first definition. I do think for the majority of us, “work” has become those things we have to do. In fact, one of the listed synonyms is “drudgery.”
Has school played a role in shaping our culture this way? I think it would be hard to argue otherwise. Though if we chicken and egg this, did school come after culture or the other way around? We’ll eventually examine how school’s primary purpose is to indoctrinate culture.
What about the word, “learning”? Does that word make you think of classrooms and teachers? Does it inspire you or make you tired? Does how it makes you feel depend on the reason you’re learning something new—like whether you’re being forced to learn something for your job, something you have to learn vs. something you’re really interested in and choosing to learn?
The noun, “learning” is defined as:
“the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, study, or by being taught”
Let’s unpack that one a bit! How different does it feel to acquire a new skill through experience vs. being taught? Which is more efficient? One might say being taught is more efficient than learning on one’s own, through trial-and-error, but then which is more effective and enduring? And by this definition, if learning comes from experience, is it happening all the time? When are you not learning? Does this challenge our cultural idea that learning only happens at school or when we’re being taught by another or studying something?
And the word, “play”? Does this word conjure up images of creative endeavors such as knitting a scarf? Writing a song? Making dinner? Maybe “play” to you is more active like riding a bike or participating in a team sport? Or do you think of watching television or sipping a drink by a pool? Maybe all of these things feel like play to you? Do you feel guilty when you play or like it’s a waste of time?
Play, verb form, is defined this way:
“engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose.”
As a noun,
“activity engaged in for enjoyment and recreation, especially by children.”
Seems like it’s the opposite of “work” which is done for a purpose. I’ve definitely used this idea to distinguish these two concepts and play experts often contrast these concepts in this way: “play” being intrinsically motivated and activity that has no intended outcome where “work” is purposeful and is done precisely to achieve an outcome.
Then is there any overlap between work and play? What about learning and play? Learning and work? Is play truly frivolous? Does it not provide experiences through which we learn?
And how about that idea in the “play” definition, “especially by children”? Seriously? What is implied by this definition? That adults don’t play? Shouldn’t play? Maybe that play is frivolous? Frivolous is a fun word too, isn’t it? How does that one make you feel?
I want to continue into the idea of play and its relationship to learning and work (and frivolity) in a future post, but for today I might leave it here. Play (yes that was an intentional word choice) with these questions, with this language. Examine your own response to these three words and your philosophy of work, learning, and play. How do they make you feel? Did the culture you took on throughout your schooling affect your perception of these concepts? Has that perception affected the way you live your life and how often you play today? Or learn? Or work? Are there ways or times in your life when all three are happening at the same time? Is this even possible?
Does the idea of answering these questions feel like “work” or “play”? Please feel free to comment with your answers to any of the questions posed or your response to even being asked the questions. Or whether you think this is a pointless exercise. Bring it on! Let’s get this party started.
Restoring Justis 