Skateboarding in the Middle East Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Skateboarding in the Middle East - Research Paper Example Skateboarding does not have to be confined in urban spaces as Wanner believes. Skateboarding represents creative play that it is universally appreciated by children and adults alike all over the world. It area of play is not only â€Å"Where there is an asphalt space of sprawl† but also in the asphalts and deserts of Middle East. In fact, skateboarding may be more beneficial and may be more appreciated in the Middle East than in the urban centers of California because many children are scathe by war in those regions whose growth and development is interrupted by war. Skateboarding, being creative and playful as it is, has a big place among those children in the war torn countries in the Middle East to at least provide them with the coping mechanism with the terror of war they are exposed of. The extent, fierceness and length of war in the Middle East that had exposed countless of children that leaves one to wonder not only on the depth of the scathe that war had left on the children but also on the interruption of their development. Play according to Smilansky and Shefatya, play is essential to children’s social competence and maturity (cited in Jalongo, 2014). Play could also be a very good antidote to extremism because it undermines the very foundation of extremism which is intolerance. Play according to Smilansky and Shefatya let children experience other’s â€Å"points of view by working through conflicts about space, materials, or rules positively† (cited Jalongo, 2014). Through seeing and experiencing other people’s perspectives, children learns to become tolerant and more resistant to extremist ideologies thereby could reduce if not totally remove extremism in the region. Finally, skateboarding or any other play should be experienced by children. Let children be children to have fun and have a sense of wonder in discovering the world. Play by itself with an atmosphere of laughing children creates a positive society where