Great education is playful.
I don’t mean that it’s just “playing games.” Playing games can be beneficial, but it can’t be the sole source of education.
I don’t mean that it’s just “having fun.” As Bobby sings, “for those who have been trained by it, no discipline seems pleasant at the time but painful.” Growth isn’t always fun, and growth is the goal.
What I mean is a wink, a sense of play in the work you do with your students. It’s dancing with the hard parts.
A playful attitude can mask the hardest of work; but a nose-to-the-grindstone attitude can make even the most play-filled learning feel drudge-filled.