Studyin' aint fun!

I'm surfing Kotaku and I find an article about Dr. Kawashima of Brain Training fame. There's this little gem in there.

"Having fun is not studying. Making them study is not to entertain children but to pressure them to make efforts. People fall to lower and lower places unless they are driven to go higher," he said (linky)

I find that rather sad. He does not see the link between fun and learning? How play can enhance information retention in your mind? Reminds me of the overachievers from high school, all work and no play. They couldn't understand how I ended up in the same classes as they were, and able to talk about what they knew about just as intelligently as they did. "You must be so smart!" Nothing of the sort. I just happen to like learning and playing.