Our Children and Their Recess Time
You may not have been aware that our children’s recess time has been dwindling over the last few years, in a quest for our schools to achieve higher test scores.
In the never ending quest for our schools to teach to the test, recess was becoming a victim of that goal. We need to really reassess what we are doing in our schools and what is truly best for our children. Could we be putting too much emphasis on test scores and not really evaluating the progress our children our making?
As I stated we must focus on what is best for our children’s educational growth and not what scores they receive to make the schools or the teachers look better. I am not saying that the teachers are doing what they are doing to make themselves look better rather they are probably forced to teach to the test because that is what we are possibly putting too much emphasis on.
The Washington Times reported that recess might actually becoming back in vogue and it actually does help our children in the educational progress.
Arizona and Virginia have recently approved bipartisan recess bills. They approved these bills after the state of Florida did so last June and Rhode Island in 2016. Why, because apparently parents have had enough and they are putting pressure on their legislatures to do so due to the fact that they believe that all work and no play is hurting the children’s achievement.
According to Carly Wright, director of public policy and advocacy for SHAPE America, and the Society of Health and Physical Educators nine states now require daily recess in elementary schools.
Good for them,
There are people and groups that oppose these laws, Chris Kotterman, a lobbyist for the Arizona School Boards Association was quoted in the article stating:
“All it does is add an additional mandate to schools that we have to comply with
Barbara Larrimore, who leads More Recess for Virginians was also quoted in the article saying:
During debate on the bill, “There was concern about core subjects, and what it’s taking away from, and are we teaching enough science and history as it is?... This is going to enhance the education process, not take away from it because they’re going to come back refreshed. They’re going to come back with more attention than if they had if they were working straight through…What everyone has learned is that social and emotional growth is just as important as the academic growth of children…We went very ‘tiger mom’ in the 1990s and 2000s, and we saw the problems that were happening with our kids with burnout and stress and anxiety.”
So what do you say? Bring back recess or not.