Unceasing Playing

Sometimes, I feel that our duty as teachers is not just to instruct, but to inspire wonder and accompany our students. The classroom, beyond teaching, solving problems, and grading, becomes a space for discovering life, asking profound questions, and seeing humanity reflected in the eyes of teenagers—each of whom carries a complex inner world.

Unceasing Playing is a collection of thought-provoking essays shaped by years of teaching and the author’s lived experience. With clear and reflective prose, Mahmoud Maghdesi turns small classroom moments into opportunities to contemplate relationships, ethics, and the meaning of education. In this book, the teacher is not merely a conveyor of knowledge but a human companion, striving to awaken curiosity, wonder, and a passion for learning in students. The book also critically examines the educational system, emphasizes student individuality, and encourages a rethinking of the concept of success.

From the text:

“I always wondered how to find the rhythm of this student. He has a strange relationship with the lesson: he understands and doesn’t understand, understands and then blocks his own understanding, doesn’t understand, and becomes confused and frustrated. With each new lesson, he follows this three-stage pattern. Many times, I have gone to his desk and said, ‘Look, this topic is completely new. It has nothing to do with the previous ones. If you listen carefully from the beginning, you’ll fully understand it. We’ll build the rest together.’ But it doesn’t work. The moment he begins to understand, he enters a strange inertia. At first, he understands and follows along, but when he misses a point, he doesn’t ask. Until he truly understands, he seems to feel he’s on familiar, easy ground, and reassures himself. He thinks, ‘I don’t understand,’ and that’s it.”