Not a Laughing Matter: The Value of Leisure in Education

Abstract

Pieper, Josef. (1963) Leisure: The Basis of Culture. (Alexander Dru, Trans.). San Francisco: Ignatius Press. (Original work published 1952).

Notes

1 See, for example, Jeffrey Morgan (2006), Kevin Gary (2006), and Angelo Caranfa (2004) for an insightful account of these aspects in their relation to educational practice.

2 Geoffrey Hinchliffe (2004) and J. White (1997) offer valuable discussions on the aspect of work as well as its moral importance in life and in education.

3 Joan Ferrés (2000) gives an account of three major technological crises in history to have affected education. The first was in Greece, in the 5th century bc with the invention of the alphabet. The second crisis was in the 16th century in Europe, as a result of the invention of print. The third crisis, the author argues, is taking place right now as a result of the electronic revolution. This last crisis, he notes, has also revolutionized our culture in a way that has become to value icons, images, visual and emotional stimuli while leaving behind logos (written, thought, and spoken word). The first provides immediate satisfaction and that is the reason why it is preferred nowadays.

4 Gert Biesta (2007) offers an engaging account of this topic, as well as a rich additional bibliography.

5 A compelling account of the negative aspects about accountability is historian of education Diane Ravitch’s (2010) newly published book The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education.

6 See especially Kevin Gary (2006).