Denisha Jones is the Executive Director of Defending the Early Years and an adjunct professor at Sarah Lawrence College and Howard University. Her research interests include organizing activist research projects that examine grassroots movements to achieve racial justice in education, documenting the value of play as a tool for liberation with an emphasis on global approaches to play, and collaborating with parents and educators to foster positive racial, ethnic, and cultural identity development in the early years. Her first co-edited book, Black Lives Matter at School: An Uprising for Educational Justice, was published in December 2020 by Haymarket Books. She joins us today to remind us and share with us the value of having play in our lives and more importantly the lives of our young children.

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Key Takeaways

[00:00:45] Definition of play

[00:03:45] Productive educational play exploration

[00:08:34] The value of play

[00:12:55] Importance of unstructured play

[00:17:04] Solo play versus group play

[00:22:19] Screen time

[00:25:34] Screen time and brain development

[00:35:01] Lack of play effects

[00:36:40] The Value of Homework

[00:39:45] Afternoon restraint collapse in children

[00:50:18] Importance of play in life

[00:52:25] Children's liberation through play

Where to Find Denisha

Email – denisha@dey.org
LinkedIn – Denisha Jones
Instagram – @DrJonesEsquire

Where to Find Defending The Early Years

Website – DEY.Org
LinkedIn – Defending the Early Years
Instagram – DefendingTheEarlyYears
Facebook – Defending the Early Years

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