“It is paradoxical that many educators and parents still differentiate between a time for learning and a time for play without seeing the vital connection between them.” -Leo F. Buscaglia

It is a universal truth that every child loves to play. Researchers and educators find that play is vital to for well-rounded development-social, cognitive and psychological. As a catalyst to well-being, play enables effective and optimal learning, unlearning and re-learning. In a world where hopelessness and despair are rampant, suicide and crime rates are soaring, play offers a space for exploration, healing and rejuvenation.

As experts expound the positive attributes of play, the actual time children spend playing continues to decrease. Elkind (2008) finds that school-going children play 8 hours less each week than their counterparts did two decades ago. With the increasing emphasis on academic excellence, society has engrained a dichotomy between playing and learning. This inadvertently has a ripple effect on a child’s learning levels and ability to grasp concepts and ideas.

Children display their works of art during a learning-through-play session with Headstreams

It is against this background that Headstreams emerged as an advocate of play. A non-profit organization headquartered in Bangalore, Headstreams works with children and youth, facilitating alternative play spaces in government schools.In partnership with Mphasis, they launched the Arivu-Disha program in 2015.This program explores the potential of how play may facilitate academic learning by enhancing reading and comprehension skills in English (under Arivu) and ready-to-work skills (under Disha) among government schools across rural and urban Karnataka.

The Arivu-Disha Programme has been envisaged as a four-year programme for government school children between grades six through ten. It comprises of two components- Arivu and Disha. Arivu, which means ‘knowledge’, focuses on improving English reading and comprehension among middle-school children. The idea is to create a secure and empathetic space within the classroom, within which various lifeskills are discussed in such a way that English is assimilated. A unique feature is the introduction of digital medium as a tool to imbibe values and language. Disha, meaning ‘direction’, is a two-year career guidance program for high school students. This component helps youth acquire rudimentary ready-to-work skills in a play space where children can vocalize their fears and anxieties while guiding them through possible career opportunities once graduate high school.

Through the Arivu-Disha program, the headstreams staff on the ground, infiltrate 30 government schools across three districts in Karnataka, equipped with teaching material and ideas for play. These facilitator’s help students grow in their understanding and command over the English language. By amalgamating the ideas of learning and play, children develop a lasting disposition to learn. In a culture, where a majority of classroom learning takes place through rote, learning through play teaches children how to seek out knowledge, explore, test hypotheses and discover. What is more, children are able to do this in a safe, protected environment, where they are able to test their knowledge and abilities with minimal repercussions (Hirsch-Paek and Golinkoff, 2003).

Mr. Manikantan, Mphasis Senior Leader, interacting with the children from the Arivu Disha Program earlier this week.

Empirical evidence over the last few year suggests that such ‘guided play’, scaffold’s children’s learning outcomes (Fisher et al., 2011). At the start of the Arivu Disha programme, Headstreams observed that for many students, the recognition of simple words, sentences, and its comprehension had been a struggle and a task that students deemed impossible. A few months in, it is heartwarming to watch children confidently.

Attempting to speak in English. Asharani, a facilitator in the Hosakote schools shares about her experience with the students she has been teaching, “A few months ago, the students were unable to speak even few words in English. Over time, through Arivu’s English curriculum many students can now introduce themselves in English, ask questions and also respond in English.” What made the positive shift happen was a combination of the program’s unique method of teaching English, the dedication of facilitators and the student’s willingness to learn?

Play, therefore, is learning. In an age where play is under siege (Zigler, 2004), The Arivu-Disha story offers hope that we can begin to build the foundation of a generation that takes play seriously.