Recess Left Behind

Recently there was an article in "the newspaper" regarding a decision made by a BASD principal to allegedly "ban" recess from all students because "lower income" students scored low on PSSA tests. The principal required all students to stay in and read, instead of going outside for recess after lunch. The article is very misleading, and not well researched. http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a1_5recess.6898545may29,0,1815465.story

First of all, the classroom teacher can take the kids out for recess when he/she wants. And most teachers realize that recess is important to a child's physical, social and intellectual development. Secondly, recess helps improve a child's behavior in the classroom.

According to a recent New York Times article: A study published this month in the journal Pediatrics studied the links between recess and classroom behavior among about 11,000 children age 8 and 9. Those who had more than 15 minutes of recess a day showed better behavior in class than those who had little or none. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/health/24well.html?_r=1&em

The NY Times article goes on to say: And many children are not getting that break. In the Pediatrics study, 30 percent were found to have little or no daily recess. Another report, from a children’s advocacy group, found that 40 percent of schools surveyed had cut back at least one daily recess period. I am surprised that the percentage of students not getting recess is so high. If you suspect that your child is not getting recess, say something. My son's school takes away recess as punishment for a child's misbehavior. This policy is wrong and actually increases bad behavior in active children.

In my experience as a teacher, I have never met an elementary teacher who did not take students outside. In fact, when the weather was nice, some teachers would teach lessons outside. I remember taking my students out for drawing lessons. And if they behaved, I even let them kick a ball around for a while. But that was 8 years ago. Things are different now due to curriculum changes and new requirements to meet standards set by the federal No Child Left Behind Act(NCLB). Everything is geared around testing. (Uggggh)

Children should be able to go outside twice a day during the school day because research shows that more recess helps improve brain functioning and concentration, which improves test scores. Unstructured play and socialization are so important to a child's development. In today's "teaching to the test" environment (thanks to NCLB) the value of recess has been left behind. And reading should never be used as a punishment if we want kids to enjoy reading and become life long readers.

I encourage parents to speak out for more recess, because recess is not just fun and games, it's as essential as reading and math.