Creating "People Who Make Good Use of Their Leisure Time": An Interpretation Based on Rousseau's Emile, or On Education

Contemporary children’s leisure confronts a dual alienation dilemma of excessive entertainment consumption and utilitarian planning, stemming from the erosion of leisure’s intrinsic educational value and the diminution of children’s subjective agency. Centered on Rousseau’s liberal education philosophy in Emile, this study delineates "true leisure" from its alienated forms, elaborating on its core attributes: naturalness, non-instrumentality, and autonomy. It establishes three value criteria for "leisure-competent individuals": attitude of autonomous choice, capacity for experiential growth, and harmonious physical-mental state. Finally, it proposes practical approaches-safeguarding natural time and space, upholding passive intervention, and discarding utilitarian logic-to translate educational concepts’ "ought-to-be" into practice. The study reveals that leisure alienation deviates from Rousseau’s "following nature" principle. Upholding leisure’s core characteristics and cultivating such individuals provides contemporary enlightenment of liberal education philosophy and acts as a critical underpinning to transcend education’s utilitarian predicament.