Sunday, February 10, 2008

PLJ - Play- relating to the classroom/ change in learning

As the conceptual age emerges and claims dominance over the previous informational age, inhabitants of this world must also experience alteration as well. Presently, information is necessary, but not a sole definition of success; today play assuming the forms of games, humor, and joyfulness are key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and pleasurable life. The conceptual age is founded upon the balance between the two hemispheres of the brain; to maintain this balance; one must seek the structure within the left brain, but also complement that with understanding of aptitudes associated with the right brain such as play.
As play is a predominantly right brained activity, it's most prudent that I select the class that best reflects right brain activity. This class is without a doubt my swimming course. Unlike the heavily emphasized left brained courses such as math and science, swimming is an art. Swimming represents play in all three aspects; swimming can be considered a game, swimming sometimes poses a great deal of abundance in the form of humor, and swimming provokes joyfulness.
Elaborating on the first point, swimming can be considered a game because it is a form of free expression. Upon entering the water, an athlete is capable of essentially everything. One of these must be gaming. For example, my swimming is currently perfecting the art of "water polo", a game resembling a soccer match. The object of the game is to successfully toss a ball into the opposing team's net; that is if the ball was still safely in possession of the offense. With this example, it may be concluded that swimming can indeed assume the form of a game.
Practically anything abstract can at one point or another become humorous; swimming is one of them. Again, I will present an example supporting the claim that swimming is humorous. For example, the previous Monday, our class was given the opportunity to utilize the diving board to perform acrobatic maneuvers whence in the air. The student in front of me jumped off the diving board only to have his chest smack into the water, producing the loudest noise ever! He ultimately turned out alright, but for a moment his actions were encountered with a hearty laugh from the bystander population.
Swimming is also considered joyful because of the presence of my friends and the games we play and the humor we encounter together. The company of friends has always provoked my sense of joy.
Last semester, my Spanish class was placed at the bottom of my schedule; presently, alteration has not occurred, so Spanish is still my last period class. My swimming class always arrives one period earlier when compared to Spanish. Last semester, I did not enroll in the swimming class I am currently attending and my grades achieved in Spanish were only secondary to what they are now. In other words, because of my swimming class, my Spanish grades have benefited; this is due to the natural sense of play vested within the swimming class. Play basically relaxes my mind and eliminates my phobias of Spanish because of its funny, joyful, and game oriented natures. As a result of play in my swimming class, my grades have improved in comparison to the previous semester.
Analyzing the holistic image, I would have considered myself to be only proficient in the field of Spanish, but once play was introduced to my swimming class, Spanish became significantly more comprehendible because of the relaxation play imposed upon me.

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