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part of daily school life, in which the
classroom teacher helps students de–
velop positive attitudes and out–
looks and di scove r their tru e
potential.
"Educating for leisure, beginning
in the elementary schools," Fitz–
gerald writes, "wi ll help provide the
meshing of work and Jeisure and
will help our children, and us, to
answer the quest ions : How ought
we to live? How ought we to work?
How ought we to !ove?"
Dr. Richard Kraus, author of
Recreation and the Schools,
sees four
major purposes of leisure education:
namely, the development of a tti–
tudes, knowledge, skills, and appro–
priate behaviors. Schools shou ld
create activities or instructional
units, he says, which contribute
to growth in these a reas, with
carry-over into program pa rt icipa–
tion.
While progress has been slow in
bringing about school-based le isure
education, recent developments are
encouraging. The Lilly Endowment,
Inc. has given the National Recrea–
tion and Pa rks Association a two–
year grant for its Leisure Education
Advancement Project (LEAP). The
pilot project, which is directed a t
kindergarten through twelfth grade
public school students, is primari ly
concerned with attitudinal change
and the infusion of leisure educa–
tion into existing academic pro–
grams. Classroom ma terials are
currently being tested in selected
schools in Indiana.
Professor Tony Mobley of In–
diana State University endorses
such an approach, which links lei–
sure education to classroom sub–
jects. The effort "must . be
interdisciplinary in nature and em–
brace science, art, music, literature,
history, geography, mathematics,
human ecology, physical education,
dramatic arts and all other studies,"
he contends.
Whose Responslblllty?
But schools a lone can' t shoulder the
responsibility for developing the
chi ld's potentia l for leisure living.
"No single institution, group or
agency could assume the complete
responsibility to educate fQr lei–
sure," wrote Charles Brightbill. "1t
is a task for parents which involves
32
more than loving their children.
It
is
a duty for clergymen which tran–
scends spiritua l enlightenment. lt is
a challenge to recreators which goes
beyond multiplying opportunities
for fun. And it is an assignment for
educators and teache rs which over–
steps progression in scholarly
achievement."
How then can parents become
partners with schools and othe r
agencies to foster leisure learning?
Perhaps the most important contri–
bution parents can make is to give
their children a head start by in–
stilling positive attitudes toward lei–
sure at an early age. Create a
playful home atmosphere where in–
formal family fun and the sharing of
interests takes place. Nothing suc–
ceeds as well as a good example;
youngsters will catch sound leisure
values by modeling themselves after
their parents.
Once lhe child enters school , par–
ents should support , but not insist
on, a widening of hor izons. Encour–
age your child to develop new ski lls
by trying different activities. Sports,
hobbies, cultu ral arts, crafts,
games, mental and creative pursuits,
socia l and communi ty service
programs are available for ex–
ploration.
As children conlinue to malure,
they'IJ develop special outlets for
leisure. Don't worry if choices nar–
row down lo a few favorites; such a
selection process is perfectly normal.
But pa renls can conlinue to serve as
stimulators for continued leisure
learning. Jusl remember to per–
suade, not lo pressure. Family recre–
ation should result from mulually
shared interests. Home parties and
entertainment, camping lrips, travel,
sports and cultural events can sup–
plement but never supplanl individ–
ual pursuits. Youngs ters will feed
back information about Jeisure ex–
periences if adults keep the lines of
communication open. Such sharing
wi ll enable pa rents to become more
effective leisure counselors for lhe
family.
lnvestment In the Future
Pa rents who prepare their offspring
in such a manner a re investing in
their chi ldren's fulu re happiness.
"We must recognize that young
people today will reach maturity at
a time when life-styles may be radi–
cally divergent from wha t we now
know," says Joan Davis, a leisure
professor at New York State's
Brockport College. "Consequently,
Jeisure education that will enable
them to have meaningful and satis–
fying leisure experiences which will
increase the quality of their lives
may be even more essential than it
is today."
The quest for quality of life is as
old as the human race. Centuries
before Christ, the Roman philoso–
pher Seneca asked, "What is the
good life?" Down through the ages
men have sought and fought for the
answer. For millions abundant lei–
sure blended with meaningful work
has become the impossible dream
which holds the potential to satisfy
sorne of their deepest Jongings.
Quest for Quallty Lile
But man's inabili ty to deal wi lh his
own fears a bout free time has
caused the ques t for the good li fe lo
falter. Society has contributed to lhe
confusion by failing to provide re–
sources for using leisure in li fe-en–
hancing ways.
Will fear of leisure be our down–
fall? Wha l psychiatrist Willi am
Flynn reports aboul his patients,
historian Arnold Toynbee observes
on a cosmic scale. " In industrialized
man the faculty for using leisure has
become atrophied and the lradi–
tional community life has disinte–
grated," wri les lhe late greal British
historian in his book
Surviving the
Future.
"Modero man positively
dreads leisure because it confronts
him wilh his own self, isolated, terri–
fyingly in the 'lonely crowd.' "
But Toynbee is no Cassandra
contemplating the cerlain deslruc–
tion of the human race. He goes on
to suggest tha t universalle isure edu–
cation may provide the answer to
man's age-old quest for qualily of
life. "The faculty for using leisure
positively in intellectual, artistic,
and above all, religious activities is
the essence ofbeing human ."
Whal kind of world wi ll our chil–
dren inheril?
God's gift of abundant leisure,
meant to be a blessing, not a bur–
den, can provide us with a future in
which freedom, happiness, and
human solidarity prevail.
o
The
PLAIN TRUTH June/July 1978