The 3 R’s? A Fourth Is Crucial, Too: Recess

[groovedaddy]

The best way to improve children’s performance in the classroom may be to take them out of it.

New research suggests that play and down time may be as important to a child’s academic experience as reading, science and math, and that regular recess, fitness or nature time can influence behavior, concentration and even grades.

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. Although disadvantaged children were more likely to be denied recess, the association between better behavior and recess time held up even after researchers controlled for a number of variables, including sex, ethnicity, public or private school and class size.

The lead researcher, Dr. Romina M. Barros, a pediatrician and an assistant clinical professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, said the findings were important because many schools did not view recess as essential to education.

“Sometimes you need data published for people at the educational level to start believing it has an impact,” she said. “We should understand that kids need that break because the brain needs that break.”

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.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/health/24well.html?th&emc=th

[endersdragon34]

1. Finally!

Finally someone realizes this! I worked for a while at a school that didn't give their middle schoolers recess or gym all that often (gym once or sometimes twice a week, recess almost never). The kids were so restless most days, and when they had recess they behaved so much better. I can't imagine how much better that school would have run if they had gym/recess every day.

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. No more recess in my district

It was done away with 2 years ago.

[goddess40]

3. It's great if your kids doesn't get bullied

Unfortunately, my asperger and NLD son's got tortured during recess and lunch break. They eventually stopped going out. Staff couldn't bring themselves to not stand in a cluster and talk instead of doing their job.

I know recess duty is a pain but it is prime time for bullying and if your the go to kid for bullies recess is hell.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. Good point

When I had a classroom I took my kids out only when no other class was on the playground. Also I rarely let any other teacher watch them.

[endersdragon34]

5. Still better then the alternative.

I was bullied during recess, but it still is better then the alternative of never getting exercise at school for 7 straight hours.

[groovedaddy]

6. Bullying is a problem but shouldn't preclude recess. When I taught in our local

schools, bullying on buses was a huge problem. The bus drivers are the ONLY adult supervision on school buses. I pushed for monitors on the busses but it was the same old song: not enough money.
On the playground, it would be a good idea to have full time monitors and give the teachers a break during this time.
Also, with bullying, it is really necessary for school systems, principals and teachers to adopt a "no tolerance" policy and let the kids know that they should not tolerate it either. To stop bullying, it's most effective to nip it in the bud, which I did many times.

[goddess40]

8. You are so right

I've been trying to get this district to do the right thing and they have started but it's got a long way to go. Until all the staff get on board with bullying ISN'T a kids will be kids thing that should be ignored bullying will continue.

[goddess40]

9. That depends on the amount of torment the student goes through

a kid with a autism spectrum disorder finds bullying difficult to impossible to deal with.

[groovedaddy]

10. Besides which, most of the "shooters" at schools had been victims of bullying. n.t

[goddess40]

11. You're right - Moore had it wrong in Bowling for Columbine

If we really dealt with bullying in a constructive way we'd avoid most school shootings.

[endersdragon34]

12. Is a kid with an ASD

I found the bullying almost impossible to deal with too, at least at a certain point, but how do you think your son would have dealt with 7 straight hours in a chair in a classroom?

[LWolf]

7. I would love

for my students to have PE every day and another recess thrown in, as well.

I do sometimes sneak them out for a 15 minute recess before the last period of the day. I can't do it all the time; I'd get reprimanded for wasting instructional time.

[shesaidshesaid]

13. To me, this is almost an issue of abuse; children need fresh air,

they need to get their blood moving...They have actually used early morning vigorous exercise as a way to help ADHD students think better and it has to do with oxygen helping the cognitive process, as well as concentration (which is a part of it all).

I went to school in the '70s and I am trying to remember how much recess we had each day. I know we had an hour lunch, too...

[BridgeTheGap]

14. Exercise is also a great preventative against depression. n.t

[LWolf]

15. Meanwhile, back at my district office,

there is a committee desperately scrambling to cut $7 MILLION dollars from an already tight budget for next year. We're a relatively small district. PE is on the table, and they are talking about making the school day longer to supposedly make up for some of the difference for the school days they WILL cut. So...no PE, PLUS more seat time in the classroom.

We'll know by next month sometime what the final decisions are.