Should elementary schools be changed so that sitting still is not so important?

Question

What happened to the open classrooms of the 1970s?

Answer 1

yes! while some children DO have adhd or add,i find it hard to believe MOST children have these !!! yet,almost all of my various friends children are on ritalin.in this school district,gymn and recess have been cut,sitting behind a keyboard is a priority.funny,after they drastically cut down on acess to excercise,more and more children have been diagnosed with add/adhd.do all these children really have attention problems,or is asking kids to sit still all day,not a normal part of childhood?in the 70's,when my class got restless,the teacher brought us to the playground and had us run 3 times over the track.then we'd come in and settle down.today,we'd probably all have been medicated !!1its like no one believes children should excercise/play anymore-hence,the rise in childhood obesity.i never cease to marvel that when our neighborhood kids all come home-they go into their houses @3:30,and dont come out again !!!only 2 of the boys near here ever play outside,a 13 and 14 yr old.all the other kids seem to stay inside .sad.

Answer 2

The first couple of years of primary schooling should allow for more play through learning, letting kids do more activities that allow them to get away from their desks and get involved. It is cruel making small children (especially young boys who have too much energy and too short of an attention span) sit for hours on end.

However, mid-way through primary school, by about aged eight or nine, kids have reached a point where they need to learn to focus. It's the only way to prepare them for the stresses of high school that lies ahead and it would be equally cruel not to give them that foundation only for them to flounder in the more academically-focused world of secondary education. That said, kids of this should still be given plenty of physical education in various forms to burn that energy. These days, it's all academic work and not enough physical work so it's not wonder kids and young adults of today are stressed and overweight.

Answer 3

That's what physical education and recess is for. Children also need to learn to focus, listen, and be quiet when appropriate. The major part of anything humans do is associated with listening. School is for learning and it should not be confused with entertainment.

Having said that, my students made paper airplanes for 15 min. straight to simulate the type of work immigrants had to do on assembly lines during the Industrial Revolution. Today they completed maps of the Western hemisphere and had to get up to view the wall map in order to complete their task. Activity is NOT always appropriate.

Answer 4

There are times & places for fiddling and moving about. During lessons should not be one of them. As an aspiring teacher, I do not want my students distracting themselves and other students by moving around in their seats. Children will be children, and they should not be expected to sit sentinel throughout the entire lesson. But self-restraint and resisting distraction are important for them to learn. Being told to sit still and pay attention will only help them in their academics and in life.

Answer 5

Children should be able to run loose.
learning is best done when standing on your head/ doing cartwheels.

Answer 6

darn skippy! humans learn by doing! you can't do much with your butt in a chair!