Dresden Engle
Pal-Mac Play
Hey, want to play?
The answer is “yes” at Palmyra-Macedon Central School District, where play is a priority for educators and young learners.
“Look into every classroom and you will see children actively engaged in collaboration, you will see children communicating, you will see children playing, you will see joy,” said Brian Brooks, principal of Pal-Mac Primary School, who is often called “the play guy” by his colleagues.
The vision for the Primary School, set by Brooks along with Superintendent Dr. Bob Ike and the faculty, is focused on five words: Play, Explore, Discover, Create, and Learn.
Brooks explains it like this: “Through PLAY, children often EXPLORE, and as you EXPLORE, you DISCOVER. As you DISCOVER, you are often able to CREATE, and if you are able to CREATE, you LEARN.”
The environment at the Primary School is one that embraces the child’s ability to explore. Area school districts have been reaching out to Pal-Mac leadership to consult on the importance of play in education. Brooks has served on panels regarding the subject, including a recent seminar at St. John Fisher College and the “Play = Learning = Play” conference at The Strong National Museum of Play.
While Pal-Mac and other local school districts are embracing play, unfortunately play is disappearing from many classrooms across the country.
“Even though we know play is learning for young kids, we are seeing it shoved aside to make room for academic instruction and ‘rigor,’ ” noted a Washington Post article. “I could not have foreseen in my wildest dreams that we would have to fight for classrooms for young kids that are developmentally appropriate.”
Brooks communicates regularly with the Primary School teachers about the importance of play. A recent survey of the teaching team revealed a 100 percent “yes” response to the question, “Does your classroom environment support play?”
When asked, “How much time do you think children should play during the school day?”, most of the teachers replied one hour to 1.5 hours.
“I am at a school where no one thinks children should have less than one hour of play a day,” Brooks said. “This reassures me of our vision and philosophy; there needs to be a balance of academics and play and we are balanced.”
Dresden Engle
Pal-Mac Play
Pal-Mac teachers facilitate the conditions where children feel safe enough to explore, take risks, share their learning, and ask questions. There is a focus on inquiry-based learning, whereas children develop connections to their life and to their world around them.
“It is so fulfilling when you have a child share with you an experience or say, ‘Look at what I found on the nature trail’ or ‘Did you see the map we’ve created?’ or ‘Look at what I wrote,’ ” Brooks said. “When you see children excited about what they’re learning and you see that happening everyday consistently across all grade levels and all classrooms, it becomes a culture.”
In Brooks’s office you will find inspirational quotes by author Dr. Seuss painted on the wall and Legos in a jar with which children can play. He is a fan of using Legos to spur imagination and creativity.
What’s really fascinating is watching a child create something totally new,” Brooks said. “They write a story in their mind, from beginning to middle to end without pencil or paper. They create characters and a plot, plus problems and solutions—and that’s language arts—but it’s happening through play.”
The Pal-Mac philosophy is backed by many studies, including one conducted by the University of Rochester in 2015 titled, “Why recess is important: The role of recess in child development.” The findings state the wide-ranging benefits of recess, including improvements in social skills, cognitive and academic achievement, physical health, and classroom behavior.
“The genius of play, at its most innovative and dramatic stage, is being skipped over in favor of programmed lessons meant for older students,” said Vivian Gussin Paley, author of You Can’t Say You Can’t Play.
But, alas, not at Pal-Mac—where free play and structured play, as well as outdoor play and community walks, are a part of the regular school day for young students.
“We are making play a fabric of our schools,” said Superintendent Ike, “and Pal-Mac is happy to share examples of our successes with other districts so we can learn how best to educate kids through play and the overall importance of play.”