others

Who is making this statement, "...persuade parents that certain toys or pastimes have greater potential for encouraging learning than others". People who are giving this marketing strategy, and given the above info it is not clear how pastimes are used in a marketing strategy. Given what is there, I would say it only refers to toys, for the obvious reason you can sell toys. You can't really sel

Grammatically speaking, I agree with Taka's book. Moreover some toy firms also manufacture "tools" for creative pastimes, which cannot be referred to as actual toys. I'm thinking of beads, dough, etc etc...

The text is about the fact that there is no clear-cut difference between work (or study) and play; Kids can learn somothing important through things seen as 'play' by adults in general, or vice-versa.

So, some toy manufacturers, I thought, would advertise that their products-toys-were better for kids to learn something meaningful than some other typical educationally-rec

For your information, the sentences are followed by this:

...So if there is a difference between the activities of the classroom and the playroom it cannot be that learning only takes place in one, but maybe that what is learned is seen as one of more value in one context than the other.

There's very little doubt in my mind, for the moment at least, that others refers to toys or pastimes (i.e., ways of passing the time). Some toys, it is asserted, have more educational potential than other toys. Some ways of passing the time, (with or without what some people may call toys), it is asserted , have more educational potential than other ways of passing the time

Yes, that's how I see it too. The intended sense seems to be:

"Furthermore, a powerful marketing strategy in recent years has been to persuade parents that some toys and pastimes have greater potential for encouraging learning than others."

MrP

That's how I see it too

OK, people. I understand.

Thank you!