The concepts of play, leisure, recreation, and sport are often used interchangeably in conversation, however, each concept has a different meaning, and a different role, in both individual lives and society as a whole. After defining, comparing, and contrasting each concept, it is clear just how much they differ from each other. Not only is it important to understand the similarities and differences of each concept, but it’s also important to know that historical factors represent a huge part of what we know play, leisure, recreation, and sport to be today. The Colonial Era has been just one of the many historical factors that has been influential in the development of these terms, specially in the development of recreation and leisure. Along with definitions of the concepts and the role of historical factors, to know the true meaning of play, leisure, …show more content…
Often limited to children only, in today’s society “play” can be associated with adults as well. Play cannot be easily defined, but could be described by activity or behavior desired by an individual for pleasure (Henderson, 2010, p. 32). Often seen in leisure activity, it also has the ability to allow someone to express themselves in a passionate, energetic, imaginary way, whether the play is done in a systematic or an unsystematic manner, with no tangible goal or reward expected (Henderson, 2010, p. 9 & p. 33). Play differs from leisure, recreation, and sport significantly in the fact that play refers to behavior rather than the activity itself (Henderson, 2010, p. 45); however, it could be seen by some as an essential part of life that enables an individual to deal with internal conflict, socialize with others, and grants them the ability to function properly in our everyday life. Leisure is vital to an individual’s “quality of life” (Henderson, 2010, p.
Both Play and Leisure are vital components of a child's life as a range of stimulating play and leisure opportunities will support the physical emotional sensory and spiritual and intellectual growth of the child. It helps them to form and sustain relationships and also improves communication, educational development and achievement.
I do not accept the thesis that American men living in cities before the Civil War engaged in sport primarily to define themselves, publicly, as manly. I would accept this thesis if it had stated that men living in cities before the Civil War engaged in sports to define themselves, publicly, and manly. The word that made me disagree with the original thesis is the word “primarily”. I am not stating that men did not engage in sport to define themselves, publicly, as manly, but I do not think that it is the primary reason. I would have also accepted this thesis if it had stated that men living in cities before the Civil War engaged in prize fighting primarily to define themselves, publicly, as manly. Prizefighting is a sport but it does not provide the standard for all sports. I will use excerpts from the various sources we have read in class in order to defend my position.
Sport, recreation and play were becoming more modern. Throughout the nineteenth century, Americans used sports, recreation and play to display their prowess and status to others.
Abstract: Society is affected every day by many different kinds of sports. These sports often govern society's way of life. People all over the nation turn their TVs to sporting events, such as golf, during the weekends. Scott Stossel states that "more than six million Americans enjoy watching golf on the weekends." Parents use sports as a teaching tool for their children. Kids learn teamwork and discipline from team sports programs and sports have also helped many students with their grades. Kids who want to compete in school sports are taught to keep their grades up or they won't be able to play, but the greedy coaches and schools often look around grades to keep their "star athletes" in the games. Adults have
“Play is an essential part of every child's life and is vital for the enjoyment of
The Elizabethan era was one of the most captivating times in England’s rich history. Sports and competitions played a major role in Elizabethan England. Citizens lives revolved around some of the most bizarre and inhumane competitions ever known. Sports, partaken in by everyone, were the main type of entertainment and a release for the competitive side of England’s people in the Elizabethan time period.
Colonial Recreation and Leisure: How did changing Anglo-American attitudes about work, labor, and leisure in the 1600s and 1700s shape the recreational practices of colonial America? What does Nancy Struna mean by the “leisure
Play and leisure are essential for physical development, emotional as well as for intellectual, educational development and achieving academically.
The sports, games, and pastimes of the time of Shakespeare have not just been set aside and paid no attention to, but they have been effectively abandoned and omitted. The Elizabethan hobbies have been thoroughly overshadowed by many modern sports such as baseball, football, soccer, hockey, and an abundant amount of other games. The 16th century English pastimes included many activities that were impeccable examples of both simplicity and amusement intertwined. With all of these amusing yet transparent games, the era was most acknowledged for theater- a prominent art that is still valued today. The sports, games, and pastimes of the time of Shakespeare are rarely played today because they would be considered illegal, barbarous, and
In both the article by Gerdy and the article by Metzl and Shookhoff, the authors establish the importance of having fun. A piece of common ground that these two articles have is the concern on the amount of fun children have while playing sports. Throughout both articles the authors make it clear to the audience that having fun should be a priority when it comes to children playing sports. In the article “Playing Sports Benefits Children” it states that, “When kids are asked why they play sports, here’s what they say: To have fun” (Metzl, Shookhoff 1). In this statement the authors are letting the readers know the main reason children play sports is to have fun. In the article “Organized Sports Do Not Benefit Children” a statement is given
Santrock (2012) also outlines the benefit of play for the child's physical development, as it "permits the child to work off excess physical energy and to release pent-up tensions" (Santrock, 2012, p.438), resulting in improved physical and mental health. Garvey (1991, p.27) states that play involving physical activity occurs more frequently in healthy children, possibly confirming that it is a component of healthy development. In addition to this, encouraging physical activity through play could influence the children to maintain a healthy lifestyle later in life, and has an array of physical and mental health benefits which prevent disease associated with lack of activity (Chaloux and Media, 2013.)
For some people, sports and other activities are seen as essential for children to participate in. In certain cases, parents may tend to push their children into a ridiculous amount of activities leading to different effects on the children. For other parents, their children’s involvement in activities is very important, but rather than pushing their children, they encourage them to try new things. With this encouragement, these parents see having fun as the number one reason for activities rather than competition. In the article, “Kids’ Sports: Too Much Pressure,” Amy Miller suggest that making an activity or sport seem too competitive could have a huge number of effects on a child and that having fun should be what all sports and activities
Play can be seen taking action at every point of the human experience. The art of play could be seen practiced by court jesters in the middle ages. Similar to court jester modern humans practice play through stand up comedy. however, in modern time play can be practiced through, the creation of playful spaces. Playful spaces allow the individual to let their creative juices flow which leads to innovations. A tool that contributes to play is surrealism by permitting people to step out of the boundaries of reality and rational thinking. The art of play is vital to all humans, but the art of play is lost once people reach adulthood. The professors in the presentation state that "to be human is to play." I agree play is vital to all humans, but I believe it is unobtainable in today's busy society.
understanding of sports as a recreational or social pastime is concerned. However, when looking closer,
The popularity of Volleyball has increased dramatically over past years. This is a result of commodification. Commodification is the process of turning something into a commodity that can be bought and sold. Over the past 20 years, Volleyball has evolved from a simple, fun and recreational sport to a more appealing, more sexualized version, beach volleyball. As a result of this evolution, beach volleyball has received a vast improvement in popularity, especially amongst a male audience. The intent of this essay is to examine the sport of beach volleyball and explain why the individuals, and the sport itself, have evolved throughout the years. Volleyball’s transformation into beach volleyball is a positive step forward for the sport in