Juggling, from Practice to Social Issues

Stimulating Creative Potentiality Through Play

Abstract

Even when we understand the game as autotelic, we consider that its reverberations go beyond the limits of the game itself, thus, it becomes a fundamental element for the teaching processes, since its pedagogization is possible if linked to the game environment, and this enables meetings to all those who participate. Thus, teaching juggling through games has the potential to achieve these goals through a different logic than the traditional one - technical. Therefore, the aim of this study was to propose, apply, evaluate, and improve juggling workshops for adults. To organize the research we used the exploratory-descriptive and propositional method, which helped in the execution, observation, and improvement of the workshops. We used observation to describe what was seen, emphasizing variables that were fundamental to the practice of juggling and to the social relationships that emerged in the game. We observed that teaching juggling through games is a way to develop variables that are essential to the practice, such as reaction time, body development, and practitioner self-confidence. Furthermore, it generates socialization among the workshop participants due to the situations that occurred during the process, such as accepting mistakes, exposing weaknesses, and, consequently, trusting others and oneself. Finally, we consider that teaching juggling through games not only promotes the teaching of the modality, but also allows juggling to reverberate from the pedagogical practice developed in the workshop to other spheres of the practitioner's life, giving the participants unique and irreplaceable experiences.