Roxie's Philosophy on
RECREATION
My belief of recreation is refreshment of mind and body, through activity
and enjoyment. I strongly agree with John Kelly's philosophy of human or
social service perspective which is - voluntary non-work activity that is
organized for the attainment of personal and social benefits including
restoration and social cohesion.
Recreation involves goals and objectives and is generally more organized
and structured. It is not generally considered to involve pure rest or
idleness, but can include a range of activities from passive to active
such as: crafts, playing cards, swimming, fitness club, and volleyball.
There are two views of recreation
1. Individualist view or approach meaning anything that feels good,
gives you pleasure and satisfaction.
2. Human or Social services perspective is the same as the individualist
view, but recreation is a public service that must be organized and
contributes to a wide range of social goals.
My most rewarding recreation was when I was in the Royal Canadian Sea
Cadets. I was in cadets from 1981 to 1985 and during this time I enrolled
in numerous recreational activities, all of which were structured and
geared to make me be a diverse and well rounded individual in all human
and social perspective.
Although being in cadets was organized and structured, I found cadets to
be rewarding. My goals and objectives were met and I still had the choice
to participate voluntarily in the recreational activities.
I accomplished the rank of petty officer 2nd class, also received a certif-
icate for gold level 3 sailing, cross rifles, best leading cadet and
leadership award. These accomplished activities helped me become a highly
respectful individual, with a great sense of well being.
There are many types of recreation from passive to active in which over the
years I have participated in both kinds. Following is a list of just a few.
Examples of a passive recreation would be:
1. Like when I joined a crafts club, whereby two or more of us got together
and decided on what type of crafts we were going to do, the supplies
needed. This gave me a sense of being creative in a social atmosphere
and still allowed me the freedom of choice and participation.
2. Playing cards with my children, their favorite card game is usually
"Go Fish" or "War". In playing fish any number of people can play. The
objective of the game is to get as many pairs as possible, once the deck
is done the person with the most pairs wins the game.
In playing war, this game can be played with up to four players. The
objective of this game is also to win your opponents pile of cards. As
the objective of both games is the same, the rule and how the game is
played, differs.
The different card games have a number of rules in which to follow, and is
quite competitive, therefore is considered to be a form of recreation.
When I play a card game with my kids, I find it to be quite humorous and
pleasurable and have found this enhances their social interaction.
Examples of an active recreation would be:
1. When I played volleyball in school, this was a disciplined, very well
organized and highly competitive sport involving two teams. This allowed
for a lot of team and social interaction. I had a lot of respect and
admiration for my coaches and fellow team players. I enjoyed participa-
ting in this sport and found that by doing this not only had I become
more physically fit, but found the opportunity for growth which helped
relieved any social pressures.
2. When I swim, I enjoy the aqua fitness programs they offer at the recrea-
tional centers. As listening to the music will pump me up and keep me
going for the whole class. I find that after a aqua class I am rejuven-
ated and therefore I find I am more capable of dealing with the rest of
my daily activities.
I find swimming to be the most all rounded activity. Swimming give me a
great deal of pleasure and satisfaction.
I volunteer as an assistant to the activity coordinator in a seniors care
home facility. My responsibilities include recruiting the seniors for the
daily activities, observing the luncheon clubs, participating in group
walks, and one day a week we go on a day trip which helps the seniors to
interact with society. Although this is a voluntary non-work activity, I
have fun in being a participant in their daily lives. As I work closely
with the coordinator, this provides me with a great deal of hands on
experience in working towards my goal of becoming a recreational therapist.
In my eyes the development and rationale for the definitions of leisure
and recreation has been justified in the examples and are self-expressive.
I believe that I have convinced the reader that my philosophies are
meaningful, logical and organized.
The individual consumer or client will benefit through social, physical,
emotional, cognitive and spiritual domains to create a whole person, so
the individual can increase their quality of life.
The individual consumer or client will also benefit through the four
components being: perceived competence--(having the required skill and
able to perform the skill well), perceived control--(is having the choice
of who to do things with, what to do, where and when to do it), intrinsic
motivation--(meets an inner need), and playfulness--( is spontaneity and
totally immersed in an activity.
The Therapeutic recreation practitioner will benefit as he/she will have
promoted the independent functioning and helped enhance the optimal
health and well-being of the individual consumer or client.
Leisure and recreation both have similarities and differences as follows:
1. The similarities between leisure and recreation are that they are both
linked to one's health, both give the option of choice and voluntary
participation, plus give enjoyment, pleasure and satisfaction.
2. The differences between leisure and recreation is recreation is what
you are doing during leisure, recreation is doing and leisure is
thinking, recreation is based on activities and leisure is based on
emotions, recreation is organized and leisure is spontaneous,
recreation involves goals and objectives, leisure does not have to
involve goals and objectives.
My ideas of leisure and recreation first developed when I work with a
home care facility for three years doing home care. My interest was
again sparked when I attended my career exploration course, and
developed further when I started at the senior's facility assisting
the coordinator. This is what helped me decide in what career path I
wanted to pursue.
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