We all know that PLAY is a part of our learning until age 6, and rightly so. But why does it suddenly stop at Grade 1?… That’s nonsense. Play is not the opposite of work. It’s the key to reclaiming the true spirit and benefits of education.
For some reason, once we enter elementary school, play is no longer part of our learning. Instead it’s the opposite, itâs a distraction from learning. For the next 12 years at least you are now only allowed to play in between learning. Itâs considered frivolous, a break from work, itâs recess. Work is serious and something that should be taken with incredible focus, attention and discipline. Your new game now⌠is to get good marks, get a scholarship, get into university, get a great job and a happy life. Itâs a very clear path to the end goal which is to have a happy, healthy and successful life. Thatâs pretty much the new game youâve entered and Iâm going to put this idea out there⌠that school is a poorly designed game.
About the speaker
Ilana Ben-Ari is the founder and lead designer at a multiple-award-winning start-up, Twenty One Toys. She transformed her thesis project into the companyâs first product, The Empathy & Creative Dialogue Toy. A 3-D abstract puzzle, the toy was originally designed with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind to bridge communication gaps between visually impaired students and their sighted classmates. It is now used as a tool for empathic learning and creative education for people of varying ages and abilities, in classrooms and boardrooms around the world.
A former karaoke DJ, TEDx speaker, hyphen-addict, and three-passport-holder, Ilana was born in the Middle East, worked in Europe, and grew up in Canada. She now spends most of her time convincing people that the woes of humanity can be solved with toys, or at the least with well-constructed ice-breakers.
As her mother always says, âNever criticize someone till youâve walked a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, youâre a mile away and you have their shoes.â
Favorite quotes from this talk See all
It seems like play should be an easy sellâpeople say they love playâbut actually, play gets a bad rap.
Whatâs the first game that you play as a child? Itâs stay alive.
There are actually a number of famous dyslexics. And it is still surprising to me that we call this a disability
Thatâs the big thing with schools, weâre blowing the punchline. Weâre telling children, this is what youâre learning so learn it this way, instead of letting them discover it and find it on their own.
If school were a game, it would be a poorly designed game.
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Hosted by
UrbanSpace Gallery at 401 Richmond Street West
401 Richmond Street West
Toronto, Ontario Canada M5V 3A8
Date
Videographer Jordan Lloyd
Photographer Luana Suciu
