Book Review: Let the Children Play: How More Play Will Save our Schools and Help Children Thrive

Abstract

Federal legislation enacted nearly twenty years ago, The No Child Left Behind Act and its successor, The Race to the Top, emphasize testing to the detriment of recess, art, music, and other subjects not being tested. According to Sahlberg, England and Australia have also followed this pattern-with the adoption of national curricula and a focus on testing that results in decreased playful learning opportunities. According to Sahlberg, Finnish education was strongly influenced by American educators and scholars who believed in teacher professionalism, cooperative learning, and learning through play.