In Defense of ... Learning to "Play School"

From an early age, children love to play school ... setting up a classroom filled with stuffed animal students and becoming a beloved teacher. What a great role playing game that prepares students for a positive school experience. 

"Playing school" continues into high school, but that phrase is not always viewed positively. Occasionally, educators will talk about students "playing school," meaning going through the motions to get the most out of the opportunities or to "work the system" to their benefit.   While sometimes this phrase is used negatively, I want to defend learning to "play school" as an important life skill. 

Quite simply, students who learn to "play school" succeed at school. The phrase "playing school" refers to students who know how the "game" of school is played, how to win at that game, and then take advantage of that knowledge to "win" at school.  

Schools are filled with students who play school well ... Think of the most recent valedictorians at your school; I bet they "played school" well. In fact, think of the top 10% of students academically; I bet they all know how to play school. They may not be the smartest students intellectually, but they are ranked highest in the class. Ahhhh ... that's the rub, isn't it?

Every year, teachers are frustrated by smart students who underperform in their classes because they don't turn in homework or finish projects late. They may be the smartest students in class, but their grades don't accurately reflect their knowledge. Why not? They haven't learned to "play school."  

When I think of students who are good at playing school, I think of the following characteristics ...

• Great Attendance - Show up every day; be on-time to class.
• Learning Attitude - Arrive to class ready to learn with everything you need.
• Classroom Engagement - Participates in class; interacts with teacher inside and outside of the classroom; asks (and answers) questions.
• Diligent Worker - All homework is completed, on-time, and to the best of a student's ability.
• Time Management - Works bell to bell, using time efficiently and effectively (including study halls and breaks).

Most teachers would love to have a classroom filled with students who do these things. So, why does "playing school" have a negative connotation? 

Educators are rightly concerned about students "working the system," but let me focus on the positives of learning to "play school." It is an essential life skill learned best at school.

Interpersonal Intelligence 

Because teachers are human, each day may look a little different. Students may enter a classroom and realized that the teacher is in a bad mood when yesterday he was joking around with students. Some students will realize the mood of the teacher and not mess around while other students will get in trouble because they didn't pick up on the teacher's mood. Students who play school well have a high level of interpersonal intelligence. What an important life skill! 

Read the Room

In addition to reading the attitude of the teacher, each classroom also has a different personality and environment with different rules, procedures, and expectations. It takes a student "reading the room" to figure out how to be successful in this room/class compared to another. Successful students can "read the room" and do well in a wide variety of classrooms. Unfortunately, too many students say "I can't learn in this classroom" or "this teacher's style doesn't work for me." They have not learned to "play school," and they will not flourish in school or in the future. In the workplace, each company and work team has its own dynamic and personality. One needs to adapt to a new environment, "read the room," and figure out how to be successful. If an employee cannot do this, he/she will fail also in the workplace. 

 

System Analysis

Schools are systems. They include individuals with different roles and responsibilities, a hierarchy of authority, rules, regulations, processes, and procedures ... all that need to be known and followed in order to be successful. Students who play school well understand how this system works and where they fit into this "school system." Being successful in life requires the ability to analyze systems. We live within systems, in our workplaces, communities, and even in our homes. 

Optimization 

After understanding a system (and one's place in it), successful individuals optimize the system. They analyze the system and identify how to improve it so that they (and others) can "win." Students who play school well do this all the time. They do all the things listed above, but they go above and beyond to be successful. Here are a few examples of students optimizing the system:

• Knowing that the teacher is the one who wrote the exam and is the expert on the content, they set up a personal review session with the teacher to study for an upcoming exam.
• Knowing that teaching is the best way to learn the material, they set up a study group with their friends to re-teach the material from the day.
• Knowing that active students are successful students, they join clubs, teams, troupes, or student leadership to stay active, stretch themselves, and grow as an individual.

These optimization skills are what employers are looking for ... analytic and creative problem solvers. Wouldn't you want an employee who optimizes the systems so that everyone wins?

Schools should be more active in teaching students how to "play school." This can be done through large orientation activities for new students and intentionally teaching classroom procedures and routines. By doing this, students will be more successful in school AND be better prepared to flourish in the future.