Aesthetics and Ethics of Play

In this post, I am reprinting a journal log of a class that I taught with elementary children.  This class discussed philosophical questions that are important when creating fiction or the pretend world.  There are rules or boundaries for play and this was a fantastic topic to get children to consider manners and ethics in playtime.  These notes came from actual feedback from a group of about 6 children.

How do we know when we have entered the world of fantasy or play? To illustrate the topic, I used a white board and created 2 stick children to represent two girls who were starting to play.  "Here, Tiffany and Olivia wanted to play pirates"
I drew 2 stick figures on the white board. Tiffany and Olivia  are two friends who go to school, listen to their teacher, work on their math, return home, eat dinner, etc. When the children get together to play they begin with a question, “Do you want to play like....we are pirates?” Once agreed on what the pretend world will be, they immediately enter into the play world. (Now I add a large box around 2 figures on the white board). In this box or imagination world they are pirates who say things like, “Ahoy maties, and shiver me timbers..”

The children readily understood this concept especially after illustrating the example. The kids were able to fill in scenarios and more dialogue of what they could say or do. This was really fun for the children because they understood what I was talking about. The world of imagination is still very real to children, but they are never unaware that they are temporarily in a “pretend world.” I have memories of pretending as far back as 3 years old playing as a dog with a fake tail, pretending to have dog house etc. Children are bright, they never lose consciousness of the fact that they are playing. As adults, our imaginative muscles get weak and out of shape.

Verbal Triggers to the Pretend World
In philosophical inquiry, we know there are perimeters to play, fantasy or fiction. These play rules or boundaries allow us to explore the world of imagination in a safe harbor, so to speak. To engage the children in exploring this topic, I began the dialogue with questions such as “What do you say to your friends right before you start to play?” I was waiting on the children to see if they would tell me what triggers their play. Here are their responses:
Tiffany: “Do you want to play like……?
( I emphasized to the group Tiffany’s use of the word “like.”) This is a child’s trigger word to represent play as opposed to reality. Children as young as 2 or 3 years old can feel and know the difference.

The next blog post will continue this series on Boundaries of Play and it will become more evident why these shared rules are important during play.  Please visit again next week.