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I never understood the complexity of the playground until our trip to Jefferson Elementary. To the ignorant, the first and second graders playing in the gym might seem like an innocent and common activity, but a trained eye would notice society induced activities amongst ages as young as six in both formal and informal activities, between both girls and boys. As the teacher lead the long line of unaware children to be our subjects in our “laboratory”, or gym in this case, they were placed in preplanned spots, three or four children to each line, each apparently supposed to sit cross legged and wait for instructions. Although the children were for the most part in some sort of “line” they laughed and played with each other, being as rowdy as expected. While waiting for the teacher to give directions, through the nosiness, one particular boy caught my eye. Completely unaware of his surroundings, he created his own line, sitting by himself, in the midst of the various single file lines, oblivious to his unconformity. As adults, we have been subconsciously taught that unconformity is negative, yet this first grader obviously has not yet been corrupted into this accepted mind frame. After each child was in what they considered to be “their place”, the teacher handed each child two hollow sticks. Jay Coakley, author of Sports in Society: Issues and Controversies, states, “Adult-controlled sports [formal play] are primarily rule-centered.” After instructing the children that there should be no beating each other with the sticks, and that they were to follow her specific instructions on where to hit and how many times to hit the floor, the formal play began.
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