With all of this talk about kids and play, it's about time we hear from an educator here on the PlayGrounding Podcast. Doug Smith has been a physical education teacher for nineteen years. In this episode, we discuss the state of physical education in schools today such as the focus on testing and how many states are losing PE classes altogether.
But don't worry, we talk about the fun stuff too, such as the importance of playgrounds that fire kids' imaginations. He helped to build a beautiful one inspired by a book by Richard Louv called Last Child in the Woods. Doug's story is also inspiring for us adults. His love for play led him to participate in a self-imposed challenge to play 30 sports in 90 days in 2011 and wrote a blog about his play adventures to share with his students.
Doug is a National Board Certified Physical Education Teacher in Charlotte, NC. He has been teaching elementary PE for 19 years. He has a passion for guiding his students towards a healthier lifestyle and helping them to be physically fit. His knowledge of whole school wellness has led him to the creation of many innovative ideas, programs, and play areas for his school, including the one of a kind North Carolina Creative Playground. He believes in and encourages his school as a whole to embrace PLAY and FITNESS as a positive lifestyle.
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This is a deeply personal episode for me, Kara, the host of PlayGrounding. This is the second part of my conversation with Sabrina Must. Last week, we explored the role of playfulness in facing and handling grief. Sabrina and I kept talking on the day of our interview and we went in a completely different direction, but with the same sense of vulnerability and depth.
In this episode, you'll hear the second part of my conversation with Sabrina Must - this time about health and fitness. After that, I'll be sharing with you some of the personal challenges I've been inspired to face based on my conversations with PlayGrounding guests like Sabrina over the past year. I'll talk about how I'm planning to incorporate play into my effort to get healthy - specifically my effort to take on a bad habit I developed to combat anxiety over the past few years: wine. I've recently started attending Moderation Management meetings to try to change that habit and find new ways to handle times of great stress - and that's where play comes in.
I hope you enjoy today's episode, and as always, please feel free to reach out to me at kara(at)playgrounding.com if this episode resonates with you. Not to be on the podcast, just because I'd love to hear from you and maybe be an ear if you don't feel comfortable talking about these kinds of things with anyone else.
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It might seem counterintuitive to have a conversation about play and grief. We often associate play with frivolity, silliness and escape. But what we learn from this conversation with Sabrina Must is that a playful approach to life can take us deeper and more in touch with who we really are, even in periods of deep grief and loss.
Sabrina’s book, Must Girls Love, is her memoir on the suicide death of her sister. This episode goes deep and for some, it might touch on aspects of life and grief you’d rather not think about. But if you’ve experienced devastating loss, as Sabrina has, you might find this a refreshingly honest conversation. If you haven’t, there’s something in it for you as well. It’s a window into the hearts and minds of our friends who we might be called upon to hold space for and comfort in times of sorrow.
Sabrina Must is an author, blogger and speaker who unapologetically shares about her life to inspire you to share your story, live more honestly, and have more fun! Joys and struggles, it's all here. And she holds true to this throughout our conversation.
We hope you enjoy it!
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Puzzles are powerful. Have you ever had a hard time putting worries aside - blocking out your to-do list and experiencing a moment of real focus in a no-stakes, playful situation? Try a puzzle. I’m not just talking about sitting with a puzzle on paper or your smart phone. I’m talking about escape rooms and city-wide puzzle hunts. Solving puzzles alone or together is practice for when the stakes are high and we need to come up with new creative solutions to difficult problems. You’ll learn all about that in today’s episode of PlayGrounding with game designer and puzzle creator, Eric Berlin.
Eric is a writer, former playwright and game designer. He’s the author of the young-adult mystery series, The Puzzling World of Winston Breen. He’s a graduate of the Juilliard School's playwriting program and also creates crossword puzzles for the New York Times, among others. In fact, he has one coming out next week on August 15, 2017. In addition, he has a website called Puzzle Your Kids, where you can download a new puzzle each week that will challenge your kids’ brains – or yours.
Enjoy!
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Dada, the Beats and the Hippies - what do they all have in common? The way they played was a problem for the authorities, for the people in power trying to instill black and white order on the world. This week on Playgrounding we’ll be talking to Shepherd Siegel, an educator and author whose work explores disruptive play and protest. We’ll explore the role of the trickster as passed down to us through mythology from many diverse cultures, then learn about cultural movements led by pranksters who laid the groundwork for some of the methods used to protest the Vietnam war.
Shepherd is completing a book that will be launched this fall called Disruptive Play: The Trickster in Politics and Culture, about how play and the creative impulse could transform our society. In this episode, we’ll meet Shepherd and learn about the background behind his message. This fall, Shepherd will be back for a second interview where we’ll dive deeper into the book itself. I’ve had a sneak peek at the intro and first chapter. If they are any indication of what’s to come, you’re going to want to keep this book launch on your radar!
Shepherd Siegel grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, in the midst of the Sixties counterculture. He was a professional rock and jazz musician who switched it out for his career as an educator (in music, career & technical and special education), earning his doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley. He has over thirty publications in the education field. Career Ladders, his internship program for high school students, is represented by over twenty school districts, a corresponding book, and an award from the US Department of Labor. From 1996-2012 he led the School to Career and Career + Technical Education (CTE) initiative for Seattle Public Schools.
He joined Project Lead the Way in 2012 after having strong success with their STEM program in ten Seattle middle and high schools, until 2015. He is a Past President of the Washington Association for Career and Technical Education, serving from 2012-2015. He was the 2004 Outstanding Career and Technical Educator for the state of Washington, and a national finalist for the Association for Career and Technical Education 2005 Outstanding Career + Technical Educator. The KAPPAN published his article about a meaningful high school diploma in 2010.
He has returned to his countercultural roots, currently writing a book, Disruptive Play: The Trickster in Politics and Culture, about how play and the creative impulse could transform our society.
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