The Sanctity of Playground Games
The daycare is far too heavy an influence on what I write here, but that doesn't really bother me. The topic today: playground games.
I have come to realize that these kids I watch have, by and large, no imaginations. Their games reflect it; they play house, collect critters and play ball tag or four-square. Other than that, I get more "I'm bored"s in one recess time than I ever wanted to hear in a single summer. And somehow, it's easy to understand; they can't come up with anything new, and regardless of the game, they will argue about the rules.
This is where the complaining begins.
The one single game I can't watch is four-square. Why? I have many fond memories of playing this in middle school, but my friends and I were, shall we say, rather competitive. We played to get to the server's square. If you took too long to get to the square, you didn't play. If you left the game, you were done for the day. If you screwed up, you were out. If you started complaining about the rules, you were out. If you then tattled, you were blacklisted and would never make it beyond the first square again. Recess was too short (never mind that it was almost a full half-hour), and if you spent the time arguing, everyone would go back to class mad. Now, as I watch these kids play, half of them will scamper over to me to solve an argument for them, while the other half play so slowly you could get an entire conversation in between ball bounces.
Then you get to the playground equipment. There are lots of things to choose from, but at least half of it is empty after the first five minutes. Why? Their attention spans are just that short, and they can then be found complaining that they're bored, and they want you to amuse them.
I can't say "Things were better when I was a kid," because, well, that wasn't very long ago, and by all accounts, I'm still a kid. However, I was lucky enough to just baaaarely miss the age group that is more or less being raised by television and video games. And I will always be thankful for this, especially if these other kids are indicators of the outcome. A world without imagination will serve as little more than the robotic nightmare portrayed in futuristic books and movies.
I have come to realize that these kids I watch have, by and large, no imaginations. Their games reflect it; they play house, collect critters and play ball tag or four-square. Other than that, I get more "I'm bored"s in one recess time than I ever wanted to hear in a single summer. And somehow, it's easy to understand; they can't come up with anything new, and regardless of the game, they will argue about the rules.
This is where the complaining begins.
The one single game I can't watch is four-square. Why? I have many fond memories of playing this in middle school, but my friends and I were, shall we say, rather competitive. We played to get to the server's square. If you took too long to get to the square, you didn't play. If you left the game, you were done for the day. If you screwed up, you were out. If you started complaining about the rules, you were out. If you then tattled, you were blacklisted and would never make it beyond the first square again. Recess was too short (never mind that it was almost a full half-hour), and if you spent the time arguing, everyone would go back to class mad. Now, as I watch these kids play, half of them will scamper over to me to solve an argument for them, while the other half play so slowly you could get an entire conversation in between ball bounces.
Then you get to the playground equipment. There are lots of things to choose from, but at least half of it is empty after the first five minutes. Why? Their attention spans are just that short, and they can then be found complaining that they're bored, and they want you to amuse them.
I can't say "Things were better when I was a kid," because, well, that wasn't very long ago, and by all accounts, I'm still a kid. However, I was lucky enough to just baaaarely miss the age group that is more or less being raised by television and video games. And I will always be thankful for this, especially if these other kids are indicators of the outcome. A world without imagination will serve as little more than the robotic nightmare portrayed in futuristic books and movies.
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