I was recently in a situation where I needed to weigh the benefits of children having time in some sort of planned activity, where they had chosen the topic, versus having nothing scheduled and needing to come up with plans on the fly.
I had mixed feelings for this particular situation, but I kept thinking about my initial reactions when I read this BBC article recently, advocating for enough unstructured time for children to become bored.. For me, one of the biggest obstacles I can face is the procrastination before starting a project. Though I don't know I get bored very often, I do sometimes get stuck, overwhelmed by all the things that could be done, and that lack of a plan very much resembles boredom..
I can't help but think that the long Saturday afternoons at my childhood house, with no plans, allowed me practice at getting started and at overcoming boredom. I think the time spent staring at my bedroom wall, until the brilliant plan to create a Barbie doll play or draw a neighborhood with my crayons emerged., was extremely valuable for me.
The extracurricular competition so many students seem to be in makes this free time impossible. I'm wondering how we can societally return to a time of better balance? Where is the tipping point for this?
I had mixed feelings for this particular situation, but I kept thinking about my initial reactions when I read this BBC article recently, advocating for enough unstructured time for children to become bored.. For me, one of the biggest obstacles I can face is the procrastination before starting a project. Though I don't know I get bored very often, I do sometimes get stuck, overwhelmed by all the things that could be done, and that lack of a plan very much resembles boredom..
I can't help but think that the long Saturday afternoons at my childhood house, with no plans, allowed me practice at getting started and at overcoming boredom. I think the time spent staring at my bedroom wall, until the brilliant plan to create a Barbie doll play or draw a neighborhood with my crayons emerged., was extremely valuable for me.
The extracurricular competition so many students seem to be in makes this free time impossible. I'm wondering how we can societally return to a time of better balance? Where is the tipping point for this?
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