Recess?
ll day in the classroom kids are being told: "Be quiet. Sit still. Be quiet. Sit still," says Nelly Torres, a parent of a first and a fourth grader in the Chicago Public Schools. "That's because they need their recess."
Torres, 42, still lives in the same neighborhood she grew up in. Back then, kids had recess twice a day. "It taught me how to get along with others-whites, African-Americans. Nowadays, kids don't know how to socialize among other groups," she says.
There was no recess at her children's school until last year when Torres and others lobbied and got a 10-minute break for the kids once a day. "They need to have a chance to burn off some energy," she says. Being able to run around and swing on the monkey bars helps kids better focus in the classroom, maintains Torres-and research backs that up.
Yet recess has been scaled back or cut altogether in a number of schools around the country. The trend can be traced back to the late eighties and was accelerated under No Child Left Behind. Districts under pressure to show academic progress began to squeeze as much instruction into the day as possible. Others eliminated recess because of concerns about safety, lack of supervision, and subpar playground equipment.
But all work and no play for kids has not set well with many parents-and teachers.
Now there is some momentum to bring recess back, fueled by several forces. There's the nation's obesity epidemic and First Lady Michelle Obama's spotlight on childhood health. New brain research is drawing clear links between physical activity and learning. Coaches are setting up new games on playgrounds to make recess run more smoothly. And parents like Torres are banding together with teachers to change policies to bring recess back. who decides?
The call on recess-to have it, or not, and for how long-is often a local school decision.
About 11 percent of states and 57 percent of districts require elementary schools to provide students with
Torres, 42, still lives in the same neighborhood she grew up in. Back then, kids had recess twice a day. "It taught me how to get along with others-whites, African-Americans. Nowadays, kids don't know how to socialize among other groups," she says.
There was no recess at her children's school until last year when Torres and others lobbied and got a 10-minute break for the kids once a day. "They need to have a chance to burn off some energy," she says. Being able to run around and swing on the monkey bars helps kids better focus in the classroom, maintains Torres-and research backs that up.
Yet recess has been scaled back or cut altogether in a number of schools around the country. The trend can be traced back to the late eighties and was accelerated under No Child Left Behind. Districts under pressure to show academic progress began to squeeze as much instruction into the day as possible. Others eliminated recess because of concerns about safety, lack of supervision, and subpar playground equipment.
But all work and no play for kids has not set well with many parents-and teachers.
Now there is some momentum to bring recess back, fueled by several forces. There's the nation's obesity epidemic and First Lady Michelle Obama's spotlight on childhood health. New brain research is drawing clear links between physical activity and learning. Coaches are setting up new games on playgrounds to make recess run more smoothly. And parents like Torres are banding together with teachers to change policies to bring recess back. who decides?
The call on recess-to have it, or not, and for how long-is often a local school decision.
About 11 percent of states and 57 percent of districts require elementary schools to provide students with