SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About TLT
  • Reviews
    • Book Reviews
    • A to Z Book Lists
    • Book Review Policy
  • Teen Issues
  • Middle Grade Mondays
  • Programs
    • TPiB
    • Tech Talk
  • Professional
    • Teen Services 101
    • Things We Didn’t Learn in Library School
  • MakerSpace
  • Projects
    • #SVYALit
    • #FSYALit
    • #MHYALit
    • #Poverty in YA Lit

September 29, 2021 by Karen Jensen, MLS

RevolTeens: The Play and Joy Revolution, by Christine Lively

September 29, 2021 by Karen Jensen, MLS   1 comments

We are back to school, and the only thing that has changed, it seems is that we’re all wearing masks. At least, that’s the only thing that appears to have changed. In the first few weeks of school we have been overwhelmed in our high school library by the sheer numbers of teens who are checking out books and talking about them. It has been stunning. We have many more students spending time in the library. Yes, they are coming in to check out books – so many more check outs than we usually have and among every kind of student imaginable. Many of our students rediscovered their love of reading and found inspiration in the BookTok videos on TikTok. It’s been great to see so many teens reading for enjoyment and I love talking with them about the books they’ve read, there’s another revolution happening. The teens have started playing again.

I think about how American “society” views and treats teenagers a lot. When kids are young, parents and teachers encourage them to play for the sake of playing to learn social skills, problem solving, and for pure joy. As children get older, adults are constantly on the lookout for what each child has a talent for: Are they good at a sport/music/performing or do they have other talents? Most of the time, well meaning adults will encourage children to work hard in the areas where they have talent and encouraging them to spend more and more time doing it – soccer tournaments, academic clubs, community theater classes and on and on until kids are over-scheduled and stressed. During the pandemic, activities, sports, and other activities were cancelled, and an expanse of free and unscheduled time was available. Many families and kids seem to have rediscovered play as a valuable and joyful way to spend time.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

We have seen it in the library. We’ve unearthed an ancient manual typewriter from a storage area and placed it out on our library floor. We gave no lessons nor did we offer advice. Students immediately approached it and have begun writing short thoughtful “typewriter poetry” which we’ve posted on the walls to inspire other students. Still other teens have used the typewriter to write love notes to each other which they exchange. There’s no grade or glory attached – it’s simply for fun.

Still other students have found ways to play by coloring giant coloring pages. We put them out with some markers, and they soon are colored and are beautiful. We have puzzles that are completed by students who huddle together in their masks and fit pieces together. We have at least five chess games happening all day long between students who are friends, and students who are from different countries. They all come to play.

Playing is revolutionary because teens are constantly bombarded with the same messages we adults do – work, work, work – rest and play are wasting time. Playing is a direct revolution against the grind culture we all hear so much about. The culture that says that our value lies only in the work we can produce and the money we make. Yes, teens do work, and study, and practice the skills that they believe may be valuable one day – all things that cause stress and anxiety. Time to play and enjoy themselves balances out their time and gives them a necessary break from stress that they need to keep going.

The mental health crisis we all have read about and experienced first hand with our own families, kids has been sobering. Death has surrounded all of us so immediately for over eighteen months. Filling every day with working, stress about grades, and getting into college doesn’t work for so many teens. It’s just too much. Playing is hitting a pause in their day and allowing them to find reasons to enjoy their lives while they continue to navigate their way through a continuing pandemic.

Teens need a play revolution.

They need time for joy for its own sake. Time with other teens that is not spent trudging through a group project, a job, or another practice. Time that’s not graded, or judged. Time that’s spent enjoying what they’re doing.

Only when they get a break for joy can they keep the hope in their hearts to make the change in the world that we wish to see. Only when they get a break for joy and play can they get back to the serious and necessary business of revolting and changing the world. m

A message on our coloring page from an anonymous RevolTeen.

About Christine Lively

Christine Lively a school librarian in Virginia. I read voraciously, exchange ideas with students, and am a perpetual student. I raise monarch butterflies, cook, clean infrequently and enjoy an extensive hippo collection. I am a Certified Life Coach for Kids 14-24 and my website is christinelively.com. Christine blogs at https://hippodillycircus.com/ and you can follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/XineLively.

Filed under: RevolTeens, Uncategorized

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Karen Jensen, MLS

Karen Jensen has been a Teen Services Librarian for almost 30 years. She created TLT in 2011 and is the co-editor of The Whole Library Handbook: Teen Services with Heather Booth (ALA Editions, 2014).

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

May 2023

Have Some New 2023 Mysteries and Thrillers by Riley Jensen

by Karen Jensen, MLS

April 2023

Behind the Recipes in the WINNIE ZENG Series, a guest post by author Katie Zhao

by Karen Jensen, MLS

April 2023

A Vanishing of Authors, a guest post by S. A. Patrick

by Karen Jensen, MLS

April 2023

Your Body Belongs to You, guest post by Ruchira Gupta

by Karen Jensen, MLS

April 2023

Cindy Crushes Programming: Unicorn Photo Frame

by Karen Jensen, MLS

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Watch The Yarn LIVE with Kate DiCamillo at ALA!

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Anatole by Eve Titus, ill. Paul Gadone

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Suee and the Strange White Light | This Week’s Comics

by Lori Henderson

Heavy Medal

More Mock-Newbery Titles Needed: Share June Suggestions Now

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Jane Austen, Cowboys, and Comics, a guest post by Rey Terciero

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Trying Something New: SPEED ROUND w/ Marla Frazee, Doug Salati, Dan Santat, and Amina Luqman-Dawson

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Duke MDs’ Prescription for Schools? Masks, with Enforcement, and Psychological Support for Teachers, Students.

21 Books About Children and their Names

Pronouncing Kids’ Names Correctly Matters. Here’s How to Get it Right.

The Human Rainbow | Dr. Ibram X. Kendi on Antiracism

37 Kidlit and YA Titles in Honor of Hispanic Heritage Month

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Silvana Cantagallo says

    October 1, 2021 at 2:21 pm

    I totally, one hundred percent agree with everything in this article! I am excited to try the typewriter idea myself in my middle school library! Thanks for sharing!

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023