Playing to Learn

I decided to research Froebel because I was unfamiliar with his teaching philosophy and stunned to learn that he was the inspiration for Montessori and Steiner. Froebel’s education philosophy does not reflect the banking system of education.  He believed that “play is the highest expression of human development in childhood, for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child's soul.”   He understood that young children figure out how things work through play and that play was not a waste of time.  He did not strive to control children trying to tell them how the world works, rather encouraging them to see for themselves by working with open ended toys he called the gifts (balls, wooden blocks, tiles, stick and rings). He did not subscribe to the banking system of “education as the practice of domination”.  

He was the originator of the kindergarten system.  “The name Kindergarten signifies both a garden for children, a location where they can observe and interact with nature, and also a garden of children, where they themselves can grow and develop in freedom from arbitrary political and social imperatives.” (http://www.froebelweb.org ).  The banking system of education “inhibits creative power” while Froebel believed that people are innately creative beings.  “Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood, for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child's soul.” (http://www.communityplaythings.co.uk/learning-library/articles/friedrich-froebel ).

Froebel said, "Parents should not fear because they do not know how to teach their children ... Let them imitate the child's example ... become children with the child, learners with the learner."(http://www.froebelgifts.com/resources.htm )  Froebel encourages parents to follow the lead of their child and trust in their innate ability to learn through play.  This is more in line with the problem-posing education where “the teacher is no longer merely the-one-who-teaches, but one who is himself taught in dialogue with the students, who in turn while being taught also teaches.  These statements clearly contradict the banking system that says “knowledge is a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know nothing."

Froebel wrote “To learn a thing in life and through doing is much more developing, cultivating, and strengthening than to learn it merely through the verbal communication of ideas” in the book, The Education of Man.  This is a stark contrast to the banking system where a teachers “task is to fill the students with the contents of his narration-----contents which are detached from reality, disconnected from the totality that engendered them and could give them significance” which says that teachers talk, and students learn through listening, not experience.  I wonder what Froebel would think if he saw how kindergarteners today are subjected to hours of worksheets and homework in lieu of play based learning?  Would he be concerned that we are so focused on cramming curriculum into their brains instead of letting the learning unfold naturally from play experiences?  What would he say if we asked him what they are missing out on in our modern education system…  I think students are being held hostage by curriculum designed to promote achievement on a standardized test that fails to engage students in thinking to understand.  Teachers are filling students brains with required information to be regurgitated leaving very little time for students to actually play with ideas, question information and think critically about what is being taught.  It is obvious that adults “drank the kool-aid” when you hear about parents outraged when a teacher doesn’t assign homework for their 5 year old.  Seriously???  If the teacher is using her class time effectively, why does a full day kindergartener need homework?  That child should be digging in the mud, building the tallest block tower or driving his imaginary spaceship to some uncharted corner of the universe, not forcefully tied to a chair for the night completing more worksheets!!!  I understand that we need to provide a foundation of basic knowledge with explicit learning goals (telling time, counting money and reading are important competencies), but we need to leave time for learning to think, question, persist and wonder.  When did education become a competitive sport that required learning more learning faster and learning earlier at the expense of having a deep understanding fostered by a loving teacher that guided not drilled.