Play Deficit in Schools: Fueling Anxiety and Depression
Creativity cannot be instilled forcefully in children’s mind, rather it demands a conducive and peaceful environment whereby a child attempts to utilize mental faculties. Unfortunately, the rotten-to-the core education system of Pakistan has made learning a lethargic and toxic activity. Prevalence of depression and anxiety is exceeding among students resulting in their exposure to life-threatening conditions.
Maria Montessori, Italian physician and educator, has rightly said that one test of the correctness of the educational procedure is the happiness of the child. It can only be ensured in a less stressful, supportive and collaborative environment. One of the main drawbacks of Pakistan’s educational system is “Play Deficit” which keeps students in cobweb of depression. Students in schools do not get time to play with their peers and engage in physical activity. Ironically, the operation of many schools in small buildings, having no playgrounds, deprives children of their basic human rights. Article 31 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child promotes a child’s right to play, but this right has been ignored ever since by the state and private sector, alike.
Peter Gray, a psychologist and researcher suggests that the “play deficit” is one of the soaring causes of anxiety and other mental health concerns among students. Gray deems lack of play as the main reason behind increasing suicide rates and growth of narcissism in pupils. To put it differently, play deficit not only mounts mental stress but it also deprives a child of cognitive, emotional and social benefits.
Undoubtedly, games and recreational activities are building blocks of social and intrapersonal skills. At play, children learn important lessons that cannot be taught in formal setting or by traditional curricula. While playing games and other recreational activities, students develop a sense of camaraderie, decision making, and problem solving skills by feeling themselves empowered and alienated from the interference of adults. Moreover, it also makes learning less boring and increases their focus, retention and attention. Frank Dempster, a renowned scholar, suggests, spacing classroom instruction makes learning more effective and less-stressful.
“It’s not the will to win that matters—everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.”
Finland presents a best example of making education less stressful. Finnish students have legal right to take 15 minutes break after every 45 minutes. In addition to frequent recess times, Finnish schools start the day between 9.00 AM and 9.45 AM so that the natural sleep cycles of children will be completed. Interestingly, Finnish students do not have tutors at home, and they spend far less time on doing homework as it is replaced with recreational activities. Resultantly, a Finnish student spends more time in playgrounds and community services which improves his mental and physical growth. Similarly, Italy also prioritizes students’ mental health by focusing on “natural classrooms” wherein students engage in open-air learning.
Sadly, Pakistan has failed to prioritize mental health of students. The author went through recent national educational policies to find any policy recommendation about recess and play time for students in educational institutions. Worriedly, there is no focus on strict implementation of building playgrounds in schools. This myopic approach of the state authorities provides impunity to educational institutions to establish schools in small and closed area, leaving no space for green places and playgrounds. Although some of them include indoor games in their calendar year, indoor games, nonetheless, cannot substantiate the significance of outdoor games.
Besides the government’s myopic approach, the exponential growth of private school sector has also neglected this vital component. Private school edifices are more interested in constructing new campuses and expanding their branches to satiate their financial greed. Moreover, the race for higher grades and competition burdens students with academic workload which deprives them from recreational activities by turning them into coach potatoes. The pedagogy in Pakistan urges students to cram and root-memorization, resulting into the overlooking of the importance of physical, social and mental acuities.
The alarming prevalence of depression among students calls for stringent measures to foster a peaceful and conducive environment for them. Government needs to formulate policies to safeguard the fundamental right of a child to play. Frequent recess periods should be increased and strictly implemented to provide time for play and recreational activity. There is also a dire need to put restrictions on constructing new educational institutes without playground and also the compulsion must be imposed on the pre-existing institutes to construct green places where children can take refuge from the monotonous academic activities.
Without the “prescription for play”, children’s cognitive, physical and social skills are at risk of deterioration. Their involvement in physical and recreational activities is the only way out for the development of innovative and creative society.
The author is the founder and editor of "The Spine Times."
