Recess in gradeschool?

Question

With the number of people in the United States that are obese, why are more and more schools eliminating Recess? I personally believe that children need PE every afternoon, Recess every morning, and a rotating scedule of art and music so one is had every day. Even if PE is 15 min, recess is 15 min, and art/music is 30min, it's not cutting into the school day that much and is very beneficial.

What do you think? Besides having healthy school lunches, is it important to have recess and PE?

Answer 1

I think, like many other things, schools are squeezing out the "extras" to spend more time focusing on what will be covered on proficiency tests, even when the "extras" are equally important. (I think this is a result of the No Child Left Behind law).

But, yes, I agree with you that recess and PE are very important... Both for the physical exercise and in "working the wigglies out" so they're more able to focus on desk work when needed.

My son is in first grade. He gets two recesses (one is 30 min, the other is 20) per day, and has PE twice a week. On days that he doesn't have PE, he has music, art, or computer... Depending on the day.

Answer 2

Local school districts face a great deal of pressure from state and federal mandates to achieve acceptable levels of performance on standardized tests. Whether this is right or wrong does not change the fact that academic instructional time is the first priority in a school day. Budget concerns severly limit what a school district can additionally offer. I think few people, myself included, would argue against recess and "specials" being important complements to academic instruction. The reality is not every school district is able to provide these. This is, however, an area where parents and communities can support public schools. If the art teacher was the most recent to go due to budget cuts, perhaps a local gallery or an artistic parent can volunteer some time to bring art to the schools. Was there strong parental opposition to the most recent school board attempt to increase the length of the school day? If so, recess may have been eliminated due to a mandated increase in instructional time. Parents who support the school board efforts need to be as out-spoken as those in opposition. The obesity that is rampant in the United States today statistically is not primarily caused by the elimination of recess and physical education in the schools. It is, however, heavily linked to the amount of processed foods eaten and the amount of time a person spends on "screen" use (tv, computer, video games, etc.). These are both things that a parent has greater control over than school does.

Answer 3

In Australai kids get roughly 30 min morning recess and 50-60 min lunch recess. Our school only has PE once a week (if that) but most schools have PE. Ours is so small though that it is up to the teachers to take them out. But it is not that so much as how much and what kids are eating. Here kids all bring there own lunch and snacks from home and many parents just pack CRAP. Whatever is quick and simple. It is sad. Parents need to take an active role too, not just lay it on the schools. Get the kids involved in afterschool sports. Mine do gymnastics and swimming as well as basketball skills and footy skills.
Recess is very important not just for the sport side but the social and to take a break from the classroom. Get out and come back more refreshed. These days school is all about the academic and they expect kids to work harder than most adults. Kids need down time to so they can function.

Answer 4

I absolutely agree with you.

However, along with many other things, the "extras" (non-academic stuff that will never show up on standardized tests) is going by the wayside. There are actual non-profit foundations out there to keep schools from shutting down all arts/music/theater/dance programs.

In the older grades, though, don't worry. Sports is not in danger of disappearing.

Aside from being annoyed about that, yes, kids do need recess and PE. They are children, and the fact that they spend their days sitting in desks 90% of the time means that they need activity at least SOME.

Answer 5

Having a Middle Schooler (8th grade), she has some sort of PE at school every day, either Dance or PE class. Dance will change to art or something different in a few weeks but she will still have PE every other day. Here is Mississippi a law was passed that all children through the 8th grade had to have some sort of PE class or a total of 180 minutes of PE. I think it is a wonderful idea.

Answer 6

My sister's son attended a school that had no recess and she switched this year, he was so frustrated all the time. She had a very valid point, you are not expected to work a job for that length of time without a break and the teachers get breaks in that length of time so why not the kids.

I think it is so important for recess, I would not send my kids to a school that did not have it.

I agree with everything you stated. my kids are fortunate enough to have PE and music and it is their favorite days of the week. I love their PE teacher she makes everything a game. She has them swab the deck and be pirates etc. half of them do not even realize they are exercising.

Answer 7

When we moved to Florida from Washington state, my children lost recess. The reasoning here is so that there is more time during the day to study for the FCAT. There's such a push now for schools to do well in standardized testing, that a lot of schools spend the entire year teaching for the test, and in the fall out lots of programs like recess and music are cut :(

Answer 8

I live in Alberta and PE is mandatory here. There are two recesses and lunch break as well every day.

I hear the States media complain about obesity rates and then hear about these horrid decisions to get rid of exercise times. Makes no sense to me.

Answer 9

I agree recess is an important part of the school day. It is healthy as children get exercise. It involves peer intervention and also lets the child's mind relax for 15 minutes.
In my class, I have what I call, 5 minutes of free time between lessons. This gives the children time to relax, get out of their seats, move around and talk quietly with each other. I have found this very benificial to each student's learning.
( Connie 5th. grade teacher )

Answer 10

Many schools are so obsessed with test scores that they are eliminating as much as possible to make room for more Reading and Math instruction. They have forgotten that kids need some unstructured time to decompress. The only way to change this in a particular school or district is for the parents to complain, loudly.