Continuing Ed

Every once in a while I get the opportunity to play student again. Thirty hours of continuing education credits are required in order for me to maintain my social work license. Thirty hours of lectures that focus on my professional interests, do not end with an exam and sometimes offer breakfast rolls and coffee...heaven. I have found that I thoroughly enjoy the role as student and look forward to these days where I can sit, listen and learn. Today's lecture was entitled, "Play Therapy - Treatement Techniques and Strategies for Children and Adolescents". I walked away feeling like a better clinician. Although obvious, I was reminded that kids are not born knowing how to resolve problems or keep their impulses in check. Children are not hardwired with virtues such as perserverance, courage, honesty, patience and trust. We teach them through our words and actions, through books and play. We help them build on their self esteem by providing them opportunities to learn and teach others. In a nutshell it's on us.
Today, as terms like "social skills groups" and "character building sessions" are becoming common language with children's mental health providers, I can't help but wonder where it all went wrong. Should we blame the Baby Einstein movement? To me, childhood is drowning in an overscheduled world of lessons and practice. Regimens, rules and expectations do not foster creativity, spontaneity and original thinking. How do we expect kids to manage themselves when all we do is manage for them? Why do we expect children to sit quietly when idleness is akin to neglect? Children learn life's virtues through family time, imaginative play, and stories. When will being a kid take priority over flashcards? Our kids may know the difference between PC and a Mac or a jete and an arabesque...but is that really what they need to be learning?
Whoa...soap box...I'll get down.