Citation

Logue ME, Shelton H. Constructivist 2008; 19(1).

Affiliation

University of Maine, USA (mary.logue@umit.maine.edu); University of Denver, USA

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Association for Constructivist Teaching)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Superheroes and “Bad Guys” continue to come to preschool despite teachers’ ambivalence about their welcome. Children (mostly boys) pretend to fight, karate chop, and expel imagined enemies from the playground and classroom, turning toys, sticks and even fingers into weapons. Teachers intent on creating harmonious, peaceful classrooms face a dilemma when the noisy, aggressive Bad Guys arrive. Many teachers ban both the Bad Guys and the superheroes in an effort to quiet the classroom and promote prosocial behavior and others eliminate all dramatic play in response to pressure for meeting prescribed learning outcomes. Play has traditionally been accepted as the cornerstone of early childhood education, but as 4-year olds enter the public schools with the explicit goal of increasing school readiness, the role of play in the curriculum is called into question. Discussion and reflection about the difference between learning through play rather than learning or play is important for all children’s readiness for school, especially for boys. Much of the literature about the active play described in this article refers to “superhero” play. The assumption often made is that this play is directly imitative of media characters and is not creative play. We use the term “Bad Guy play” to refer to dramatic play that may or may not include superheroes from the media. This play may also include rough and tumble play. The important feature in this play is that any fighting is play fighting, not true aggression. This article examines how a group of preschool teachers’ re-constructed their thinking and practice about Bad Guy play as a result of careful observation of children’s play and collaborative reflection.