Some reading from over the weekend

Should you have missed them:

• An essay by Professor Peter Gray of Boston College on the deficit of play today's children are suffering from.
• The New York Times Magazine had a long read on voting rights, which, given the makeup of the nation's public schools, matters greatly
• Another in the ongoing series the Boston Globe has been doing about Boston's desegregation of schools, this time focusing on the two women who led, in some fashion, each side. 
• The T&G had a front page story yesterday on charter schools and who they actually serve. Key to remember that ELL and special education represent a range of need, and the highest end isn't, nearly ever, covered by charter schools.
• And a question on why we're assigning homework in elementary schools

Common Core, kindergarten, and play

You may have seen the Boston Globe "Ideas" column on the impact of the Common Core on kindergarten over the weekend. I'd recommend reading it, particularly in terms of the distinction between goals to strive for and goals that are developmentally appropriate. It also raises the question of the importance of play, something we're seeing increasingly get shuffled aside.
And it clearly hit a nerve over at DESE, as yesterday, what was linked on the department's Twitter feed but these comments (scroll down to the "Teacher Reflection") regarding how very pleased this teacher is that the state recognizes the importance of play...
...which they did in a comment on what's not covered in the standards.
If in fact the state feels that play is central for young children--and I know I'm not alone in arguing that doesn't end in kindergarten--then they should place it at a much more central place when they talk about standards, child development, and pedagogy of young children. Sticking it in a "what's not here" note just points out that it isn't there.

Save Play

Just came across this Pledge to Save Play from Kaboom!
It'll take you to this useful pdf on saving play in your school and community, including links to the solid research on why play matters (and why homework isn't all its cracked up to be).
A bit of a Kaboom sales pitch in there, but it's hard to complain when they gave us Union Hill's playground!

Play in learning

Good article in the IndyStar about the importance of play for learning, particularly in kindergarten:

Play -- in all its various iterations -- is an essential component of kindergarten. And though it is sometimes criticized by pennywise critics who question the value of taxpayer-funded classrooms for young children, educators and scholars say play is the language kindergartners know best, making it a great tool for learning....

To take away playtime from a 5-year-old, McMullen said, schools might as well take away lunch. It's that essential to learning.