To Play or Not To Play
is it really a question?

"Play needs to be cherished and encouraged, for in their free play children reveal their future minds." ~ Friedrich Froebel (1887)

"To be or not to be: That is the question." (Shakespeare, Hamlet)

This powerful quote poses the question as to whether Hamlet should continue living or not. "To exist or not to exist, that's the question for me" paraphrases his dilemma. This is a profound question asked at a time of peril. The essence of the question defines the focus of "To Play or Not To Play: Is It Really a Question?" During a time in our education system when play is being assaulted from many fronts, we, too, find a climate of peril; play is in danger. Play, once commonplace in classrooms, is now found only outside the classroom. Now, we are finding play removed from outside the classroom by the elimination of recess. Where is the place for play? Where will it exist, so our children can flourish? The resounding call for play's existence issues from courageous people willing to demand that play live, that play exist. To live or not to live? To exist or not to exist? To be or not to be? To play or not to play? Are these really valid questions when the stakes are so high, the alternative so bleak? This book takes the necessary step in affirming play's vital role in child development and provides a voice for play. To play or not to play? No, it should not be in question!

Table of Contents

• Forward by Sandra J. Stone
• Chapter 1: Play and the Brain by Doris Bergen
• Chapter 2: Playful Activities as Mediators in a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse World: A Global Perspective by Tunde Szecsi and Debra S. Giambo
• Chapter 3: The Value and Contribution of Play to Preschoolers' Development by Ernest Dettore, Jr.
• Chapter 4: A Play-Based Curriculum To Promote Literacy Development by Christine Jeandheur Ferguson
• Chapter 5: The Shaping of Children's Cultural Identities Through Play by Carol McNulty
• Chapter 6: The Arts and Play(fulness) by Howard Booth, Linda Ehrlich, and Elizabeth Deasy
• Chapter 7: Play and the Child With Disabilities by Sonia Mastrangelo and Isabel Killoran
• Chapter 8: Outdoor Play by Kathleen Burris

Christine Jeandheur Ferguson and Ernest Dettore, Jr., Editors, Editiors 2007. 104 pp. ISBN-13 978-0-87173-170-8
No. 1070 $18.50 ($14.80 ACEI members)

Voice America radio interview with Ernest Dettore (mp3), June 18, 2007

Voice America radio interview with Ernest Dettore (mp3), March 31, 2008

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