התמלול המלא של How Play Builds Belonging and Resilience with Elizabeth Cushing

example, and there's 20 kids playing baseball, and you hit the ball or you strike out, then you gotta wait for 20 kids to go through that before you have a chance again. And so games like four square, where you get out quick, but you also have a chance to get back in, uh, very quickly 'cause the line moves fast and things happen and, and it's very quick-moving. That to me is one of the best parts about it that makes it so accessible for any school to implement. What would you add about that? [00:03:40] Elizabeth Cushing: Yeah, that's absolutely true. Uh, and we create the sense that if you get out in a game of four square, instead of being pointed at and made fun of, you get a high five. Good job, nice try, and you get back in line to play again because kids are intrinsically motivated to play. They will accept getting out or disappointment if they know that they're gonna get to play again soon, as you said. [00:04:04] The other style of game that really works with young kids is a big game of tag, sh- like Sharks and Minnows is a good example where there are two or three sharks in the middle, everyone else is a minnow. You're trying to run past those sharks and not get tagged. A few people get tagged, then they become the sharks. [00:04:22] It's just this ongoing perpetual game of running and tagging, and there's no one winner and there's no one loser, and it's just fun and can handle a large group of kids all at once. And what we know is when adults know what games work and what games their kids like, I'll tell you, every Playworks playground does not look the same as every other playground, and adults get in the game. [00:04:48] It's-- Adults playing is a powerful relationship builder. It demonstrates the kids matter, it demonstrates play matter, and I'll let your, your audience in on a little secret. Kids know they have mastery when they play. It is the only time in the school day when they feel like they are as good as the grownups, and so to watch a grownup get tagged feels like, "Oh, we actually have something in common. [00:05:15] You're not always the expert," and it changes that child's relationship to school. Uh, and we have hundreds, hundreds of games, uh, that achieve that kinda outcome. [00:05:30] Jethro: the Playworks coaches coming in and plopping that down on my desk and saying, "All right, time to learn some games." And, and what's, what's great is that really the way you learn games is you go play them. And, and that's the beauty of it. And, and the Playworks coaches would, would teach our students how to play them, and we'd do a new game every week or so, and they'd have lots of exposure to different things. [00:05:52] And once they know how to do it, then they go off and play it on their own. And, and that became a really, a really powerful thing for our school. [00:06:01] Elizabeth Cushing: That is right. That game, that game guide is now available for free online [00:06:06] Jethro: Uh, [00:06:06] Elizabeth Cushing: our website [00:06:07] Jethro: I did download it a couple months ago, uh, 'cause I had to do something with, with a group of kids and I was like, "I'm gonna go back to the Playworks thing," and I saw it was free and I was like, "Oh, this is great," it's, it's a wealth of information. So if you... The cool thing is, is that the games are also adaptable so you can... of the things we had teachers do is they would take the games from outside and bring them into the classroom where [00:06:31] Elizabeth Cushing: Uh-huh. [00:06:32] Jethro: And y- and they would play them in the classroom, for, uh, academic reasons as well. And because the kids already knew how to play the game, then it was an easy transition to, you know, we're doing math facts and instead of tagging someone you solve a math problem right there or something. [00:06:51] You know, that kind [00:06:52] Elizabeth Cushing: Yeah [00:06:52] Jethro: stuff made it, made it really accessible for everybody. So, um, I want you to talk a little bit about why play is so important [00:07:01] Elizabeth Cushing: Uh-huh. [00:07:01] Jethro: we, we know that it is, but we always take away time for play in schools. And, um, a few [00:07:09] Elizabeth Cushing: Mm-hmm. [00:07:09] Jethro: ago I did an ASED, uh, presentation with a, a K-1 principal about how important play is and how much she, she used play in her lower grade elementary school and, and it was, it was really impactful. [00:07:24] So I have a g- good understanding of that. But a lot of people think, you know, we'll just cut recess time or use takeaway recess time to punish kids, which is a really bad idea 'cause, know, that just never works out how you want it to. So, uh, how does play help emotionally, uh, develop kids and help them become more resilient? [00:07:44] Elizabeth Cushing: Yeah, happy to talk about that, too. I think we all know play is fun. Uh, it is actually a developmentally critical behavior for learning to be social with other people, to learn how to be with someone else in a, in a game which has very low stakes, right? So if you think about it, the consequence of losing a game or getting out in a game is, is only a little bit of pride. [00:08:13] And so it is a behavior through which kids learn to resolve disagreements, to be on a team, to persevere through disappointment. All of that happens naturally through play, not through being taught from a book how to be a teammate. And so it's really important that every kid have access to that kind of play, we think, every day, and it is linked to lower bullying in school. [00:08:43] And you can see how if you understand how to get yourself in a game or how to resolve a disagreement, that you don't need to get in a, in a fight with someone, and that is so important. And we hear principals, teachers, and also families talk about the concerns they have post-pandemic having watched kids not play socially if their school was closed, and now the fears around social media harm in adolescents,

AI taking away real-life experiences. [00:09:17] All of that is creating kind of a new level of conversation in communities that we need to make sure every kid gets to play when, when they're young. And we see in our schools kids say, "I wanna be at school because I belong there." That's why, uh, we have the data that shows that our Title I schools have a lower proportion of chronic absenteeism than non-Playwork schools. [00:09:42] It's because of how it feels. And if you learn that you can count on your classmates to play, uh, rock, paper, scissors the same way, you will start to feel like you can count on being cared for when you're disappointed, that it is a place where you can build resilience. And I think that might be a little deeper than some people think about what play is. [00:10:10] And if you come play with me on a Playwork playground, you'll start to feel it, too [00:10:16] Jethro: Well, that is certainly the case because I certainly felt it. And going back to what you said before about how, uh, when adults get involved, it, it brings them down to what Alfred Adler called a horizontal relationship, where you as a teacher in a hierarchical relationship and, and playing the same game together puts you in a horizontal relationship where you are just as likely to get out and probably more likely as the teacher, 'cause you're slow and, you know, older than, than these kids with tons of energy. And so it makes sense for them to, to feel different things and to emotionally develop a- and feel more secure and all that when that happens. Um, one of the, the stories I'd like to share, I gave a TEDx talk, um, way back in 2012, uh, about our school and how our daily attendance rate was 85%, uh, consistently through, uh, through the, the years leading up to when I was there and then the first year that I was there. [00:11:20] And we tried everything that we could. And we, we did something really simple which was just ridiculously simple. We just told the kids that if they had 95% attendance in their grade, they could cheer when we announced it over the, over the loudspeaker each day. So we just announced that every single day. And what we saw was that when kids felt like they had a purpose for being there, that it was worthwhile for them to be there, then they wanted to show up for school. And that became, that became really powerful for all of them and really beneficial for them as well. Playworks came on around this time also, and so I- I'm sure that that contributed to it. But it wasn't a program that I brought in so I didn't, I didn't talk about it much. But there are all these things that we try to do in school that we think are gonna make an impact and, and we can't... We're not sure that they will, but we try and we, and we try to do the best that we can. But Playworks is one of those things that really does make a difference. And the part about the adults being involved, you know, the number of incidents o- on the playground goes way down

when there's adults out there playing games with the kids. You know, it [00:12:33] Elizabeth Cushing: Totally [00:12:34] Jethro: a, that's a very easy thing to, to see that it works. [00:12:39] Elizabeth Cushing: Yeah, totally. We, we saw, uh, actually we did a study of how many minutes of recovered class time there were in Playwork schools, and the outside researchers who did it came back and they said, "We didn't expect this, but it is 25 minutes per day, per class that is saved when you don't have those disagreements coming into the classroom." [00:13:03] And on your, on your attendance point today, I saw a story, a note came in from a principal who said, "I have kids coming to me in the afternoon as they're leaving school, and they say, 'Is three-line basketball gonna be played tomorrow at recess?'" And the principal said, "At first, I, I didn't [00:13:25] understand why they were asking me, and now I realize it's a reason to come." [00:13:30] Jethro: Yeah. And, and if, if that, that's what they have to look forward to, uh, that's honestly a sad commentary on what's happening in the classroom. But at the same time, you know, it is what it is. And, and if that's the thing that gets them to come to school, then, then that's great, and I'll take it, you know? So, so to your point about, um, this emotional resilience that kids develop, when the adults are out there playing also, then the kids see how the adults respond. [00:14:01] Elizabeth Cushing: Yes, sir [00:14:02] Jethro: especially when an adult would get upset, and the kids would be like, "Oh, you don't need to get upset. It's not a big deal." It was... I tell you, that was, that was the best. [00:14:13] And... 'Cause some of our teachers were quite competitive, and, uh, they could, they could get a little fired up sometimes. [00:14:20] Elizabeth Cushing: I love it. [00:14:20] Jethro: was fun. [00:14:21] Elizabeth Cushing: I love it [00:14:22] Jethro: so the other part of that is that, that there are, uh, Playworks coaches that help the kids [00:14:28] Elizabeth Cushing: Mm-hmm [00:14:28] Jethro: teach teachers and all that kind of stuff, and then the teachers get involved. But then there are junior coaches, which is a student role. [00:14:35] Elizabeth Cushing: Yes [00:14:35] Jethro: the student role and how having that leadership further helps with this emotional development and maturity that kids get. [00:14:44] Elizabeth Cushing: Yes. When I joined Playworks 22 years ago, and I had three kids, I thought I knew everything about how to help kids learn, and I did not understand the power of a peer leader. So junior coaches are fourth and fifth graders who are given the opportunity to apply typically to be a junior coach. And what we do is go to the fourth and fifth grade teachers and we say, "Hey, are there some students in your class who might need an extra opportunity to learn some leadership skills, or maybe they're struggling with the institution of school? [00:15:21] Uh, we'd like to give them a chance to be a leader on the playground." And so typically at a school it's somewhere between 15 and 20 kids who are junior coaches. They get some leadership training from us, which is mostly how to lead games, how to lead, uh, rock, paper, scissors, and they get this purple shirt that says junior coach on the back. [00:15:43] They then come out 20 minutes of recess for the younger kids, the K-1s, the two, threes, and they do that maybe once a week. They're assigned a game to lead. And the opportunity to be named a leader, to be invited to lead the younger kids, and to watch the dynamic between a young child, a K-1, who just idolizes this fourth or fifth grader and is so happy that they're paying attention to them and wants to play with this fourth or fifth grader, it changes the perception that that fourth or fifth grader has of themselves. [00:16:22] And often the way this is set up is it's an honor to be a junior coach, so they have to fulfill certain expectations. They have to show up at school, they have to complete their homework. And so they are having such a good experience of being an important person in their school that they will follow those, uh, those expectations. [00:16:44] We have since, in our 30 years, actually hired former junior coaches who've come back after college to be staff, and they describe how this was a turning point in their lives when someone saw the leadership capacity they had inside and gave them a chance to demonstrate it [00:17:05] Jethro: I mean, that's just incredible, and any of these opportunities that give kids a chance to, to show who they really are, are really powerful in school. And, and it's so beneficial. And I, I love that kids have grown up and now started working at Playworks who were junior coaches. I mean, that's just, that's [00:17:25] Elizabeth Cushing: Me too [00:17:26] Jethro: Yeah. That's awesome. Um, so this, you're a nonprofit and, uh, that means that this must be a free service to schools, right? [00:17:36] Elizabeth Cushing: No, sir. It is not. We have a financial mo- yeah, we do. We do. We have a financial model that is a combination of schools and districts paying for our service, and we raise philanthropic dollars. So it's a mix of the two. And [00:17:57] Jethro: how do [00:17:57] Elizabeth Cushing: yeah [00:17:58] Jethro: for it then? How does... What, [00:18:00] Elizabeth Cushing: Yes [00:18:01] Jethro: it, it was different tw- 15 years ago when I was in that school [00:18:05] Elizabeth Cushing: Sure. Yeah, yeah. And, uh, let's just start with the fact that it is a tough funding environment out there for schools, for school districts, and we know that we all gotta be creative together. So I'll give you some examples. Uh, Title I dollars are used in many of our schools. We operate nationally, so we serve schools in, all over the country. [00:18:30] Uh, it fits in Title I because of student engagement and also school climate. So many schools and districts use Title I

dollars. Some schools use Title IVA because there's a focus on safe and healthy students, and running around and having fun are actually great ways to be both safe and healthy. Uh, and then there's creative sources, like in states or PTAs may raise money for it, uh, because their kids are so happy, uh, to have Playworks there. [00:19:03] Um, and so we often see that a school or district will combine funding sources. [00:19:10] Jethro: Mm-hmm. [00:19:10] Elizabeth Cushing: We also, um, train, uh, school staff. So we provide professional development to school staff to run our program. That's what we're doing in Fairbanks, uh, right now, where I know you used to be. [00:19:23] Jethro: Yep [00:19:25] Elizabeth Cushing: in that case, some PD dollars are available for this as well because we're building staff capacity to create an in- a healthy environment for schools. [00:19:37] Those are some of the sources [00:19:39] Jethro: Yeah, that's great. When I first, um, became a principal in Kodiak, Alaska, our middle school still had recess. And I was like, "Well, that's interesting. I've never been at a middle school that did have recess still." And then my daughter's middle school here in Spokane, Washington, where I live now, they also had recess. [00:19:59] And, and it's just so good for that to happen. It's so good for kids of all ages to have downtime, and playtime, and time to do things. Um, and so it, it's easy to, to try to not justify it because of what needs to happen, but there are so many additional benefits that we've talked about today that come from being able to have some good quality organized games that are not just kids hanging out outside, 'cause there's a difference, right? [00:20:32] Elizabeth Cushing: Aha [00:20:32] Jethro: about the difference between kids just hanging out and being actively involved in games, which is what PlayWorks does? [00:20:40] Elizabeth Cushing: Yes. Uh, I remember my first day at Playworks a long time ago where I went out to a playground to take a look, and it was a real big blacktop. There was a very small group of kids who were frantically trying to play a game of chase. Nothing more to it than that. It was rough and tumble, and the majority of the kids were standing around the perimeter trying to stay out of harm's way. [00:21:09] And it was September, so Playworks had just joined this school. We hadn't been there before. And I asked the coach who was giving me, you know, the overview, like, "What's happening?" And he said, "Well, we have to establish some known games, some game areas, some basic norms like high fives and good jobs and rock, paper, scissors, and then the kids will take to it." [00:21:36] And I said, "But all these kids standing around are bored. Uh, they're not moving, and they're not having fun. They're gonna go back to class not in a great state of mind." And, and he said, "Yeah, that's true, but let's come back in a couple months." And I came back, and it was, like, transformed. And there is something about the joy, the sense of belonging that translate directly to learning. [00:22:07] We know this actually about brain science, that all of us grown-ups do, need to help feel safe in order for the energy in our brain to go to the task in front of us, and so this is true of the kids. Absolutely. And I, I think now I feel, um, as, uh, you know, I've been here a long time, my kids are now in their 20s, and I feel like, oh gosh, these young kids in elementary schools have so much, uh, technology all around them and things that are distracting them from being in the world, you know, being in real life. [00:22:44] And we're starting to hear from families that they are very concerned, and we feel like, hey, we're here with a solution, a solution that's right in front of us. Recess is a built-in time. We know how to do this. It's not complicated to change recess like the transformation I observed. We can help you do that, and you'll have the outcomes that you had at Copper View [00:23:10] Jethro: Yeah, for sure. So I just wanna share one last story before we close up here, um, which is we had a... It was an older school, and so, like, the, the playground was not in great shape. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great. But after we implemented Playworks, people saw how good it was and how their kids were talking about new games and, and all this kind of stuff, and it was very easy to get our, our, uh, basketball courts and four square courts and everything painted again, and to get the PTA to come in and, and volunteer time to paint a map of the United States. [00:23:49] That was one of the games that the kids played. And, um, and, to, like, be involved more because it was a positive experience. Because the, the issues of my kid got beat up at recess just basically disappeared, and that wasn't what was happening anymore. And you know, that... Don't get me wrong, we still had fights at recess, so it wasn't perfect. But, [00:24:15] Elizabeth Cushing: Yeah [00:24:16] Jethro: there were, there were, there were a lot fewer issues, and they affected a lot fewer number of kids in a negative way, and all of the students were influenced in a positive way from that. And then the community got involved and wanted to be part of it and wanted to, to help make sure that the courts got painted and everything. And those are, those are little things, Elizabeth, but they're also really, really big things, [00:24:41] Elizabeth Cushing: Mm-hmm. [00:24:42] Jethro: that the school community was taking pride in the school again when that wasn't the case beforehand. So [00:24:50] Elizabeth Cushing: Yes [00:24:52] Jethro: own one experience. I can't imagine how many more of those you have across the country. [00:24:57] Elizabeth Cushing: Oh, so many. And, you know, a superintendent told me that his schools have become the schools where parents want to be, where they want their kids to be because they know that they will be included, that they will feel joy, that they will have fun at school, that, uh, it is in fact a childhood-focused place. [00:25:19] And that makes sense as human beings, right? If, if my environment is vibrant and people care about it, then I feel cared for. And, uh, I feel really grateful that I can work at an organization with a team of people who is all about making sure kids feel good every day [00:25:40] Jethro: Yeah, I, I think that's so important. So one of the things we talked about that is an important part of this is, uh, improving attendance at your school, [00:25:49] Elizabeth Cushing: Uh-huh [00:25:49] Jethro: Playworks can have an impact on that. So if you enjoyed what we were talking about and are interested, you can visit playworks.org/podcast to get their 30-day attendance reset and then other lots of helpful resources, including that game book that is, is super valuable. [00:26:07] So Elizabeth, any final words, uh, that you wanna say before you sign off? [00:26:12] Elizabeth Cushing: I think I want, uh, your audience to find an opportunity to go play. Play with the kids in your school or play with the kids in your family or in your neighborhood, and just notice how it feels. That is the kind of feeling that you could help create for every kid at school every day, and we're here to help [00:26:32] Jethro: I love it. Go find some kids and play. That's, that's great advice. Okay. Elizabeth, thank you so much. Once again, everybody, that is playworks.org/podcast. Thank you so much, Elizabeth, for being part of Transformative Principal today. [00:26:47] Elizabeth Cushing: Happy to be here. Thank you for having me [00:26:51] ​