Technolandy

Day 26 (of 2024/25) school playgrounds… perspective plus climates…

Our K-12+ school is predominantly an online learning school that supports home based learners with in person learning opportunities… so that means we don’t have a few things. No library and no playground. We are playing around with the library by exploring a comic book/graphic novel library (the genre that led me to sturdy & teach English literature and become a school librarian – so my premise is they did something right to engage me). 

But some articles have me thinking about our outdoor play options…  https://apple.news/Aq6Ho4BMUSi6O5V_RUuNfbg

As a proponent of free & deep play (https://technolandy.wordpress.com/physical-literacy/) I support risky play – or as Gever Tully calls it, “Dangerism” https://technolandy.wordpress.com/2024/03/01/day-116-of-2023-24-dangerism-revisit-from-gever/)  

Because an almost opposite reaction (as seen in an earlier blog about international school rules that may be coming to a school near you, ‘do we need to wear more helmets more often?’ https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ar-AA1qz9mB

If you don’t know what might make up a playground…are you missing out if you don’t have one to explore during learning breaks? Also – they are expensive. There’s the unit cost. Then the installation. And nobody remembers the maintenance costs. And then there are the varied views of how safe a playground experience ought to be. So no matter what you do install… it coulda been better. 

Are we overthinking it? A previous district installed gaga pits (a hexagon arena resembling thunderdome with rules for balls hitting people… Google it. Wildly popular and low cost. Another area had me just leave out hockey sticks and tennis balls (even on the weekend/holidays… put some other balls on the field too). But admittedly, those were supplements to the metal equipment (I believe the province has removed all wood structures though I could be wrong!)

So my current thinking… can we design one that is inclusive (mobility) and reflective of our land and the Tla’amin Nations history here… don’t have answers – just the start of a journey that one may think easy, but has many layers: how to provide spaces for kids to ‘play’!