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Monday, February 23, 2009

Play-time

The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies or opinions.

All the Time

A colleague shared a fantastic "Scientific American" article with a number of us earlier today, "The Serious Need for Play."

Coincidentally, a different friend and I were talking first thing this morning about how she wished her daughter would have some fun. "She's always reading. It's too much....I used to read under my covers with a flashlight and my mother said that that's why my daughter's that way, but I wish she were interested in having fun, too."

"Maybe that *is* fun to your daughter -- reading all the time," I responded.

And then I read the article, which talked of the importance of unstructured play -- how it builds the imagination, negotiation skills, the ability to problem-solve....

Recently, I was writing for school about how I get a thrill from doing experiments at work. Others might call it risk-taking; it's not the risk that thrills me, but rather the sense of experimentation.

Did I get that way from going to my first year of nursery school at a Montessori school? Did I become experimental because my friends all liked to pretend with me when we were very young? Did playing with Lego by myself, in the corner of my mother's Weight Watchers meetings, make a difference? How about running around outside whether on foot or by bike, often improvising my destination?

During our most recent class in Time & Learning, our professor asked, "What makes you feel in or out of synchronicity with others? And when you feel out of synchronicity, what do you do to achieve or restore it?

"I try to make people laugh, which always disarms everything," I responded. It wasn't till I gave that answer that I realized that laughter is so valuable to me at work as a creativity agent that if no one around me is particularly funny, I try to take up the slack, to ensure that I feel my most open, and so my most creative.

"So you're saying that the element of surprise, which laughter brings, can bring synchronicity?" our professor asked.

"I think so."

Reading the "Scientific American" article, I was wishing, also, that it had talked about being playful at older ages, and explicitly about laughter. As a reader, I could infer that when two kids are playing, if they're having fun, probably there is at least some laughter.

Laughter can be a deeply pleasant surprise, and a pleasant surprise opens people's minds. If I can no longer do spontaneous fort-building, or other unplanned, fun activities with the people with whom I spend my workdays, then I can try to make all of us laugh in any case.

4 comments:

Br. Bernard Delcourt said...

My life as a monk in community is highly structured. But I often take up my friend Elizabeth (who volunteers here twice a week) on the offer of a game of backgammon. We take on a funny, naughty, competitive persona for the games which would otherwise be out of place. We can get quite raucous and it isn't unusual for guests or brothers to come and see us clown... It's a wonderful source of laughter and release. And it's been the source of much strengthening in my friendship with Elizabeth.

Sarah Siegel said...

Remember when we were walking near your NYC apartment several years ago, and I was struck by your loveliness and called you "a genteel gentile?" Now, I want to call you "a jolly gentile." Both terms are meant affectionately.

Anonymous said...

Hello Sarah!

Despite the difficulty with the language and like to visit your blog and read your posts.

The binomial teaching-learning will be much more efficient if done in fun. The relaxation awakens creativity and facilitates learning.

I hope your visit in my space: http://vivervivo.blogspot.com

Hugs and success!

Nadir Paes

PS.: Sorry I am still learning English.

Olá Sarah!

Apesar da dificuldade com o idioma e gosto muito de visitar seu blog e ler suas postagens.

O binômio ensinar- aprender será muito mais eficiente se for feito de forma lúdica. A descontração desperta a criatividade e facilita o aprendizado.

Espero sua visita no meu espaço: http://vivervivo.blogspot.com

Abraços e sucesso!

Nadir Paes

PS.: Desculpe-me ainda estou aprendendo inglês.

Sarah Siegel said...

Nadir, thanks for your interest. I wish I knew Portuguese. I'm sorry that I thought your initial comment, a number of entries ago, was spam.

All's well that ends well; I visited your blog and especially appreciated, "Crise - Oportunidade para despertar o nosso potencial criativo."

I translated it for myself in Babelfish.com.