have the schools in your area eliminated recess?

[pstokely]

I've heard of a lot of them doing that

[Tredge]

1. Ohmygod!

That's unpossible!

[JailForBush]

2. No, but they've done a pretty good job of eliminating childhood.

They feed the kids pig slop, waste their time in after school activities (like sitting on the gym floor for twenty minutes, waiting for some asshole teacher to notice them), etc.

I'm talking about Seattle, which is probably more corrupt than most school districts, but I don't think there are many large urban school districts in America that aren't cesspools.

[solinvictus]

3. Yep

My daughter's school only has PE twice a week. She couldn't believe it when I told her that I had it every day in elementary school.

[patricia92243]

4. I'd hate to work without a break (recess

No wonder the children don't do that well - they are too tired.

[blondeatlast]

5. Sadly, yes.

I mourn it for my little bear. They have packed the school day into into 6 hours (the entire day, including lunch).

[supernova]

6. Yes, they are

eleminating recess in a lot of places. Also music, in favor of more lessons, and why don't you learn faster, better dammit!

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

7. Even in PRESCHOOL!

WTF!? We're trying to find a decent preschool for our kid for a couple days a week. One that came highly recommended offers 20 fucking minutes of recess during a four hour session. We said "no thanks". All she wants to do is run/climb/dance etc. We decided it would be wrong to stick her in a classroom with little physical activity at such a youn age.

It's no wonder kids are getting so damn fat! And don't even get me started on my theory about the relationship between ADHD and lack of recess/physical activity in school! "Mr. Filthyrottenbastard, we need to put your child on Ritilan because she can't seem to sit still for six hours..." No fuck'n kidding!!

end rant...

[YellowRubberDuckie]

11. Yep, and they will blame you at every turn, filthy.

They want your kid compliant and a zombie. If they would let them out to run around for an hour or so, they'd come back in ready and willing to do their school work. Or if they knew how to teach and made it FUN! Or if they'd split it up so that there was art and music like we had. We had stuff to look forward to during the day. I hated PE because I got made fun of because I couldn't climb a rope. Even back then I'd say, "Oh, yeah, climbing a rope is going to get me into a really good career." And then I'd get made fun of because no one knew what I was talking about. Kids aren't allowed to be kids in school anymore. It's really really sad...then those same teachers/administrators bitch about what is wrong with those kids. "Hey, buddy, you're doing it to them. Quit yer bitchin' and do something about it."
Duckie

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

13. Teachers here are so worried

about getting kids to pass ther SOLs (standards of learning - or shit outa luck...) that they use every moment and eliminate any extranious and unnecessary class - like music, physEd, etc to cram kid's heads with information instead of teaching them to actually...uh... what's the word? Oh yeah - THINK! "Don't ask questions - just memorize what we tell you..."

[cmd]

14. Teacher don't always have a choice

I fought the recess battle for years and lost against the administration. I don't know of any teacher who would vote to eliminate music, art or PE. I know dozens of they who have been told they cannot teach units on things like Native Americans or magnets because it is not in the Course of Study for their grade.

Can you guess what determines the Course of Study? Did I hear you say proficiency tests? Good answer!

cmd, retired teacher

[jimbo fett]

8. Yes, they only get recess (or P.E. as some call it) once a week for 30 min

[cmd]

9. Recess died in the late 70's

When I was a kid and when I began teaching in 1965 we had a 15 minute morning recess, an hour long noon recess, and a 15 minute afternoon recess. We didn't worry about mist and wind chill. We went outside.

I left the classroom in 1974 to stay at home with my children and returned in 1984 to one hour long noon recess during which the children sat at lunch tables for 30 minutes then went outside IF the windchill in Cleveland was above 20 degrees. ( We were 90 miles inland from Cleveland.) Needless to say much of the recess time was inside sitting. We did have PE two days a week for 30 minutes.

Here was my Friday schedule for kindergarten last year:
8:45 Arrive at school
9:55 Class begins
11:15 Lunch
11:45 Back to class
12:45 Recess
1:15 Back to class
3:25 Dismissal

Notice there was no Art, Music or PE in the schedule. We were in the classroom all day on Friday except for the 30 minutes for lunch and the 30 minute recess when the windchill in Cleveland was above 20 degrees.

Now I didn't make my kids sit at a desk all day. We moved around the room. However, you can't get much exercise in a crowded classroom. I am so happy to be retired and out of the system that demands testing and ignores common sense.

[dmr]

15. That's how I remember it

Going to grade school in the late 50s/early 60s: recess in the morning and recess in the afternoon; as well as walking home for lunch and walking back to school. PE or gym was separate from recess; it was organized physical fitness, which we had twice a week. Then there was art and music.

This was in Michigan, and we played outside whether it was frigid weather or not. In fact, if it was lightly raining, we still went outside. I remember this because the day President Kennedy was shot, it was lightly raining, and our teacher sent us out to play, although all we did was stand around confused and upset.

Today children are being robbed of their childhoods. Kids need to run around, play, interact, act silly and most importantly use their imagination.

Are children better off academically today?

[YellowRubberDuckie]

17. The imagination has been breeded out of our children...

They all have to have stuff to play with. When we were kids we'd go outside, make our own fun and find sticks or something to make swords out of, climb trees, that were our houses. WE'D play. Today these kids don't have the imagination to go out and play pretend anymore, and that's sad.
Duckie

[trof]

10. No kick-ball?

No dodge-ball?
No jumping rope?
No tag?
No marbles?
No monkey bars, Jungle Gym?
No Red Rover Come Over?
Jeez...NO SWINGS?

That's IT!
I ain't a-goin'!
I'm playin' hooky.
:-(

[TXlib]

12. Hey! Teacher! Leave that kid alone!

[Esurientes]

16. Yes: new reason

When I complained about no recess for my kids, the teacher said that so many students have asthma now, they can't take anyone outside.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

18. And one theory about the increased incidence of asthma

is increased exposure to car exhaust (which is present even INSIDE a car a small amounts).

Instead of running around and playing in their own neighborhoods, kids are strapped into the family car and taken to organized activities. They associate only with the kids their parents introduce to them, and they must never roll around on the ground and get dirty.

No wonder their immune systems are screwd up.

Whoever eliminated recess doesn't understand kids. I don't have any kids, but I evidently understand kids better than those educational bureaucrats do.

The elimination of recess is something that parents could get together and lobby their school boards about and vote out the bozos who won't let kids be kids.

[supernova]

20. But, But, But... we have to pass the tests!

We have so many tests we have to pass or do well on to maintain or keep funding.

:eyes:

[PVnRT]

22. But, you see, recess isn't on standardized tests

Therefore, in Bush's Every Child Fucked Royally America, it is irrelevant. Kind of like music, science, art, etc.

[donco6]

19. We still have it every day.

All elementary and middle school sites.

Guess we haven't ALL turned into cesspools.

[bigwillq]

21. No. I hope it doesn't come to that

children need time to play

[BrotherBuzz]

23. My son still has recess

Our little backwater school district in the central valley, California, is strapped for money but is doing a fantastic job of teaching our children nevertheless. I'm very impressed with the professional level of the teachers, too. Amazed at what they do and the enthusiasm they generate in the classrooms. I say give 'em a raise! (make the Pentagon sell giftwrap and cookie dough)