With a focus on early childhood and inclusive education, I was compelled to research aesthetic play, and as I was looking through articles, I came across Margaret Latta many times. While I was reading the introduction of her book entitled, “Curricular Conversations: Play is the (Missing) Thing”, I came across this quote which stuck out to me: “The movement of aesthetic play is revealed to be deeply educative, fostering curricular conversations that connect the self and the world in an ever-enlarging conversation” (xiv).
Margaret Latta is a “curriculum theorist, teacher educator, and arts educator” at the University of British Columbia in the Okanagan. In Chapter 1, Latta discusses how curriculum is such a complicated thing, but teachers across the country have mastered the art of “orienting teaching/learning toward oneness, resulting in generic learning processes” (2). Latta also discusses the complexities and fears that come along with instilling this environment of aesthetic play and exploration, but she follows this up with her concerns as to why play is so necessary: “assuming ways of being in the world that do not separate knowledge from interest, or theory from practice, seeking pervasive qualitative wholes, is intended to confront such stances” (3).
There are many ways in which Latta believes teachers can engage their students in the wholeness of learning, which is evident as she touches on “drawing on aesthetic traditions and engagement, including experimentation, multisensory attentiveness, and non-linear as well as linear ways of thinking and acting” (3). Latta believes that truly engaging students in learning will, in turn, connect “self and world” and “such reflexive engagement becomes continuous and varied, forming the curricular matter that very much matters” (3).
In my essay, I want to delve deeper into Latta’s book about the ways in which teachers can evoke such meaningful play. I am very interested in Lattas philosophies as I believe it is something I will hold onto as I hope to be an early-childhood learning resource teacher. I will compile research that will work as an approach to integrating curriculum with aesthetic play.
Latta, Margaret Macintyre. Curricular Conversations : Play Is the (Missing) Thing, Taylor & Francis Group, 2012. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uregina/detail.action?docID=1108614.
3 Comments
Carlos Martinez
Hey Mya, I found your blog post to be easy to read and very informative! Margaret Latta seems like an interesting person to research for your first assignment. I really like the way you put how Latta believes that engaging students in learning will then result in a connection between their self and the world. That is something that I would say aligns with some of my beliefs as well.
The idea that teachers have become masters at teaching and doing things one way which has lead to a generic learning process is something that I think we should be exploring more as we all know by know how different people are and how many different ways people learn.
Jada Wright
Mya! I just read your post (as we were given the one minute warning) But you had a great post and really sparked my interest! Latta seems like an interesting person with perspectives that match up to mine. Learning through play is so powerful. I will definitely be looking into some of her works.
Rachel
Hi Mya, I enjoyed your blog post, and I agree with you, that play is very important to learning, especially for young children. What are some of the strategies that you intend to put in your curriculum as a future teacher?