Observation Essay: Playgroups For Serious Adults
Suron Annette Clark
July 7th, 2013
IDS 201
Observation Essay Playgroups for Serious Adults A playgroup would produce a better individual than an organized team would produce. The fundamental differences between the two are the differences between an adult that would adjust well to society, and one that would not. The ideal adult is able to leave the nest after the completion of high school, not come back after the completion of college, and function independently with minimal support from parents. Playgroups foster character traits that are found in mentally and emotionally healthy adults, while organized teams discourage and even diminish those same traits. Playgroups foster the skill of initiation and follow-through. Kids don’t …show more content…
In playgroups, kids are involved because it’s what they want to do, at that moment and in general. In organized teams, the kids may be interested initially, but may get burned out and eventually just be a part of that team because their parents want them to fulfill their obligations. When my daughter is picked up from school, the kids- unless they’re doing something structured and planned, like eating- are dispersed among the room, in the area that they want to play in at that moment. The teachers don’t have to advise them and their every move. They encourage individuality and the kids seem happier as a result of that freedom. At the game that was viewed, a couple of the kids seemed to be uninterested towards the end, and appeared to rely heavily on support from coaches and parents to “keep at it!” “For the spontaneous playgroup, the game experience is likely to be defined as an end in itself, whereas for the organized team, the game is a means to an end,” says Coakley (p. 28) Playgroups teach youth to decide for their selves what is right and what is wrong. During the game, one of the kids did something they weren’t supposed to do, and it wasn’t apparent whether or not he was aware of it, but it took the referee, the coach, and a couple of parents to get together and get things figured out. At playgrounds and backyards things like that happen just as often, but they assess and move on. And they do so on their own. “…It
July 7th, 2013
IDS 201
Observation Essay Playgroups for Serious Adults A playgroup would produce a better individual than an organized team would produce. The fundamental differences between the two are the differences between an adult that would adjust well to society, and one that would not. The ideal adult is able to leave the nest after the completion of high school, not come back after the completion of college, and function independently with minimal support from parents. Playgroups foster character traits that are found in mentally and emotionally healthy adults, while organized teams discourage and even diminish those same traits. Playgroups foster the skill of initiation and follow-through. Kids don’t …show more content…
In playgroups, kids are involved because it’s what they want to do, at that moment and in general. In organized teams, the kids may be interested initially, but may get burned out and eventually just be a part of that team because their parents want them to fulfill their obligations. When my daughter is picked up from school, the kids- unless they’re doing something structured and planned, like eating- are dispersed among the room, in the area that they want to play in at that moment. The teachers don’t have to advise them and their every move. They encourage individuality and the kids seem happier as a result of that freedom. At the game that was viewed, a couple of the kids seemed to be uninterested towards the end, and appeared to rely heavily on support from coaches and parents to “keep at it!” “For the spontaneous playgroup, the game experience is likely to be defined as an end in itself, whereas for the organized team, the game is a means to an end,” says Coakley (p. 28) Playgroups teach youth to decide for their selves what is right and what is wrong. During the game, one of the kids did something they weren’t supposed to do, and it wasn’t apparent whether or not he was aware of it, but it took the referee, the coach, and a couple of parents to get together and get things figured out. At playgrounds and backyards things like that happen just as often, but they assess and move on. And they do so on their own. “…It