The Value of Play in Education - Essay Example

? THE VALUE OF PLAY IN EDUCATION Play experience and learning As early as infancy, play serves as the primary method of leaning for children. Through play, children interact and acquire interpersonal and communication skills which are essential tools in life. Children eagerly make use of the tools at their disposal in the play. These include their bodies, the surrounding environment, and their relationship with peers and families. More than other activities play fuels healthy growth and development of children. Much of a child’s early learning is gained though play. Though to children, play is mainly a source of fun but is important to note that play is a fundamental learning process. According to children, play is just but a fun tool which takes many forms and aimed at achieving pleasure. It is the pleasure driven from plays which acts as the driving force behind the repetitiveness nature of plays. With repetition in the play comes mastery which brings a greater degree of confidence and accomplishment of the acts. Depending on the personalized needs and circumstances, children engages in a range of plays which include; solitary, onlooker, parallel, and associative. These types of plays are conducted in stages which serve as the complexity stages of play. The initial stage in a play is the sensory exploration manipulation. This takes symbolic form of play through object invention and transformation (Palmer, 2001, p.84). Play enhances a child’s growth through development of interpersonal, communication, and psycho-motor skills. Through play, children develop cognitive skills as they learn more objective classification skills, problem solving techniques, concept development and creation of sense out of events or things. The development of cognitive skills is made possible through trial and error act of play commonly practiced by children. Besides, cognitive skills are acquired in the play through goal planning and decisions made by children while playing. The other essential skill developed through play is the motor skills. Through plays, a child may develop coordination and control of muscles which are important in writing, walking, eating and kicking. Plays involving talking, rhyming, singing, or word play help the children to master the sounds and rules of language as they enjoy the fun of playing, hence enhancing their language skills. Through play, children gain emotional and social skills which are essential tools in education (Palmer, 2001, p.48). Play helps in developing creativity and imagination. It also helps children to acquire social skills like negotiation, cooperation, sharing, expression of emotions, and taking turns. As a child learns about himself/herself and the real world, she/her acquires self-reliance, self-confidence, and self-expression. Home learning patterns Parents could describe the learning patterns of the students as a foundation for future generations. The home based curriculum sets to enhance the education community. It gives a guideline to what needs to be learned by the students as they go through the learning curriculum. With respect to the product model of looking at running programs, parents will be able to assist in defining the individual students with respect to their strengths. It is a classical model in the approach of understanding the curriculum. The curriculum utilizes this model in achieving basic amenities that will assist the students. With the help of this model, the educational system develops a curriculum with a detailed description of the contents of teaching, or syllabi. The teachers are expected to deliver to their pupils through teaching. The model originates from the Classical Tylerian educational rationale, which relates the learning process and teaching as a linear casual relationship (Palmer, 2001, p.95). Countries apply this model in development as it links pre-determined educational objectives to the appropriate sections, which will bring out relevant methods of teaching with the qualities of students and teachers. Evaluating the students is applicable in the regulation of the new input or teaching plan. In situations where inadequate teachers are present, the systems come in with its systematic flows. Australia France and European countries adopt the system for hoe based learning programs and they are evidence of the success of the model (Palmer, 2001, p.68). Academic programs and play Helping in the definition of the educational levels that will be considered in the program is important in securing a strong and reliable home based program. The levels of education may include elementary, high school and university levels. The curriculum is a foundation of the high-level quality of education expected by the governments. Bringing out the importance of the program to the n government is aimed at focusing on children. The experience model is applicable in setting the academic levels necessary for providing high quality home based programs. The model is based on an assumption that the process of learning is more important that the content used to achieve given objectives. Educationists prefer the use of the model in advance situations as it emphasizes on experiences rather than the products. It kills the culture of reading to pass exams and focuses on the importance of the educational process. Finland can also be associated with this model. Australia applies it with teachers who hold master’s degrees as they are able to relate to the interpretations of teaching other than putting emphasis on the outcome. Parents, with the use of the model can reveal a more (Palmer, 2001, p.56). Contents of the program This is model aims at providing a shift for teaching into content, subject and other arrangement. Co- curricular activities are non-academic activities that help promote skills and high level of thinking for students. Gardner developed the theory of multiple intelligences. This theory describes how talents and skills help in the strengthening of individuals. It is therefore important for students to be allowed to take part in various activities to be able to explore their capabilities and interests. These non- academic activities such as athletics, football, music, band, and clubs are an important part in a student’s development. Many studies have shown that those students who participate in co- curricular activities are more successful academically than those who do not. It is not clear though whether the bright students are more energetic and thus engage in co- curricular activities, or whether these co- curricular activities boost academic performance. Language is essential when it comes to communication. All beings have particular ways of expressing inner thoughts or emotions. Moreover, these beings are able to make sense of complex and abstract ideas or thoughts with other beings. Human being is one of those beings, who is able to communicate with the other to fulfill their necessities and also to be in a better position of maintain their culture. In brief, we can define language as a verbal, physical or biological innate and basic mode of passing information. However, this form of communication is a learned behavior, which is also involving stimulus and the response. Talking about behavior, we include the gestures, body movement as well as the spoken word(s) (Palmer, 2001, p.89). It has been argued that children in their earlier ages are in a better position of learning many languages. Nevertheless, when these children grow they become limited in learning other languages. According to the research that has been taken, the reason why children cannot learn other languages when they are grown up is because the sound palate become limited and thus it make it difficult to follow other phonetics. In reference to this, it is better for one to be instructed as early as possible in order to attain fluency of phonetics much better. Bilingual education is one of the program in which the indigenous language and a second language are taught to someone as the subject matter and mainly is used as a media of instruction for academic subjects. A bilingual person is someone who can speaks two languages. One becomes bilingual mainly through acquiring two languages at the same period in his or her early ages. Again, one can as well learn a second language later after acquiring the first language. Mostly, children become bilingual if their parents speak two or three languages while communicating to them repeatedly (Baker, 2006). Conclusion Effective learning programs can elevate the success of an individual if parents are involves in setting the regulations. Home based programs are different from the regular school based programs thus require the involvement of the parents to emulate a good study programs. in the case of school based programs, teachers have a large percentage of interaction with the students, in the case of home based programs, input from parents is necessary in propelling the academic future of students. Getting involved in the student’s academic life is only the first step that a parent can do to ensure that they achieve high academic backgrounds. A parent will have to follow up to ensure that the deployed program is successful in bringing out an all rounded student. Most parents assume that the academic setting of their children is the responsibility of parents. Parents should get involved in the life of a student, as they are the first role model that the student can easily identify with. It becomes easier for the student to relate to the parent if the relationship is nurtured from a young age (Palmer, 2001, p.78). The suggested methods can ensure that a student becomes productive in the community that he or she is form through undertaking a home based program. Bibliography Palmer, J. (2001), Fifty Major Thinkers on Education: From Confucius to Dewey, London: Routledge, pp.47-97. Read More