STUDENT RESEARCHER CONCERNED WITH ACCESSIBILITY TO PLAY
What insights have you gained from your research thus far ?
Answering this question is so tricky — if I could do it simply I ’ d be a lot further along in my thesis . There is a lot going on when you see someone play . It ’ s complicated and beautiful . People have offered an immediate connection between the birth of their children and play . One ’ s labour and birth , even their pregnancy , has a profound impact on parents ' ability to attach , bond with , and play with their infants . These feelings — anxiety , being out of control , fear , shame , but also potentially empowerment or magic — they last a long time . It ’ s amazing how many parents ( fathers included ) of children as old as nine will bring up a traumatic birth of a child as a barrier to play .
Whittney Blaisdell and her son . Photo by Danielle Tocker Photography
Interview ( April 14 , 2020 ) with Education master ' s student Whitney Blaisdell ( BEd / BA Visual Art ' 14 ), whose research , focussed around accessibility to play , has been extended by new funding focussed on play during Covid-19 restrictions .
Why did you become a teacher ?
I originally wanted to pursue teaching as a stepping stone to getting a master ’ s in library science . I quickly fell in love with teaching , however , and I ’ m fascinated with education .
What did you do after graduating with your BEd / BA ?
I took a position teaching with the Regina Public School Board . I was offered a continuing contract while still serving my first temp contract . I ’ ve now been teaching for six years . I ’ ve been inspired by some of the strong teachers I ’ ve worked alongside and was encouraged to begin grad studies , which I began in the summer of 2017 . As previously mentioned , I ’ m quite fascinated by the field of education . How a society pursues education : Who is trusted to educate , how they do it , why they teach the things they teach , what is exactly considered an “ education ”— these are all questions that I ’ m curious to explore . I ’ ve of course narrowed my graduate focus but continue to try to keep these larger questions in mind as I study . Education is a field that should be carefully scrutinized and held to a high standard .
It ’ s an honour to have the ability to pursue graduate studies in such an interesting and important subject .
Why did accessibility to play become an important issue for you ?
The first graduate course I took was taught by Karen Wallace and Patrick Lewis and it had a heavy emphasis on play , art , and story . This course , and some of Patrick ’ s writing he shared with his students , has had quite an impact on me as both a teacher and mother . The “ erosion of play ” ( Lewis , 2017 ) has weighed heavily on my mind since taking the course .
Why did you choose to develop the Project Play YQR as part of you research for your thesis ?
A friend offered me an idea to create a map of playspaces around the city . I loved the idea of constructing a functional project out of my research , and have taken it a bit further . I learned quite quickly that you can have the perfect play space , but a physical space only has so much to do with one ’ s ability to play . There ’ s a lot of privilege to play and many barriers between people and playfulness , as well as many factors that can help people feel and be playful . Considering how important play is , I wanted to explore these factors .
Money comes up as a barrier to play even for people who are affluent . The commercialization of play ( Lewis also describes this as a barrier in 2017 ) is far-reaching . Parents describe how their children ’ s expensive activities inform their own social circles . At best , structured activities for children do certainly offer a fun outing for families , a chance to socialize and meet friends , physical activity , and skill development . They can be a great facilitator for play if balanced well and a lot of accidental play happens around these activities as siblings congregate and run around the hockey arenas , etc . At worst , however , structured activities for children can become intensely competitive , performance-centred , shame-inducing and othering environments for children and their families .
A strong mental well-being facilitates play . I ’ m currently trying to access and analyze what exactly helps people get into a mental space that is free and open to play . High expectations and sexist treatment of women and mothers doesn ’ t help . Trauma , which appears incredibly common , doesn ’ t help . Great maternal health care providers help a lot . A strong network and community supporting a new family helps a lot . Seeing other people be messy and unapologetically playful appears to be a catalyst for one ’ s own playfulness . One could almost say that play is contagious . Conversations around the importance of play are important — and that ’ s something the Play YQR platform helps to provide . I try to advertise for play . It ’ s easy to forget
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