September 28, 2015 - 15:29
Play slowly transitioned from a fun way to spend time with friends to a competition I was not fond of. It no longer meant my neighbors and I on our street, coming up with games, running and laughing. It meant me in my school’s gym not being picked for dodge ball, missing all the free throws in basketball, or not running to the next base fast enough. It was my classmates yelling at me for costing us a point. I learned to stop playing, it was no longer a carefree game. I resonate with the line in Henig’s article that says “Out in the schoolyard, there was no raising your hand with the right answer. I had to wait to be asked to play jump-rope and had to face embarrassment if I missed a skip or — worse, much worse — if nobody ended up asking me.” Play is supposed to be an opportunity for kids to be carefree, but when you add competitiveness into the picture, it can be embarrasing for less athletic children. It is no longer beneficial to every participant, and it can be more damaging than helpful.