In her book, What if Everybody Understood Child Development, Rae Pica quotes Alfred North Whitehead as saying, “I lay it down as an educational axiom that in teaching you will come to grief as soon as you forget that your pupils have bodies.”
Many of us are seeing that grief in the classroom as different policies and practices seem to forget that our children have bodies.
As one of the foremost child development experts in education, Rae Pica has devoted nearly 40 years to advocating for more play and more movement.
Today, she’s sharing what she’s observed over her career, and helping us become advocates for movement as well.
Listen
Notes from the Show:
(*May contain affiliate links)
Rae’s Podcast, Studentcentricity
Rae’s Book, What if Everybody Understood Child Development?
(And find the Not Just Cute Read-Along based on it here.)
Read Rae’s Huffington Post article by the same name that prompted the book.
Check out Rae’s newest book, Active Learning Across the Curriculum: Teaching the Way They Learn
Other books by Rae Pica listed here.
Dr. Charles Hillman’s study on brain activity and movement.
Dr. Peter Gray discussing the co-occurrence of the decline of play and rise in psychological disorders (TEDx).
(Here’s a Not Just Cute post based on Dr. Gray’s assertions: Is there Danger in Play or More in its Absence?)
Books by Dr. Eric Jensen
American Association for the Child’s Right to Play
Rae’s Tips for Advocating for More Play and Movement:
- Gather Your Research
- Be Brief
- Be Respectful
- Don’t Go Alone – Find like-minded partners
- Invite Policymakers (to your presentation and to your classroom)
