Hello classmates I found this article very interesting.
Children spend more time in school than almost anywhere else.
At school, recess provides one of the few opportunities for children to play
and to potentially be outdoors. Gallup conducted a nationwide survey of 1,951
elementary school principals from urban, suburban, and rural schools to
understand principals’ attitudes and experiences with recess. A few of the key
findings include: 1) more than 80% of principals reported that recess has a
positive impact on academic achievement; 2) 75% of principals stated that
students are more focused in class after recess and listen better; and 3) more
than 95% of principals believe that recess positively impacts students’ social
development and general well-being. Despite these benefits, researchers found
that many principals reported offering very limited recess times. For example,
50% of principals reported that students receive 30 minutes or less of recess
per day. In addition, over 75% of principals reported taking recess away from
students as a punishment. According to principals, one of the biggest
challenges with recess is discipline-related problems. Principals identified
additional staff, better equipment, and playground management training as ways
to improve recess at schools.
Reference;
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (2010). the state of play: Gallup survey of principals on school recess. Retrieved from
Reference;
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (2010). the state of play: Gallup survey of principals on school recess. Retrieved from
Hi Sheena, I agree that recess is an important part of the day. I find it very sad that many schools are removing recess or shorting the length of recess in their schools to focus more on the "academics".
ReplyDeleteSheena, this research is interesting as in early childhood, a high quality measure is 30 minutes of outdoor play for every 3 hours of attendance - so in a school day totaling at least an hour of active outdoor play. I think the early childhood field is speaking loudly to other fields and they should take note - their brains need a break and their bodies need activity for stimulation. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteDear Sheena,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this important information! Recess is so important for all age levels, in my opinion! When the weather is decent, I like my first graders to get an AM recess, lunch recess, and PM recess. They need it! Right now, we have below freezing temperatures, so it is not possible, but we can surely build in time to move/play indoors. By sharing this research data, teachers and principals need to support recess during school. We should not use recess as punishment either. Sometimes the children who lose recess are the ones who need it most! Recess, movement, and play can look different for each individual child, but they all need a chance to participate. Wouldn't it be nice to have mandated recess periods in the day? I would be open to that! As a mother too, I would want my own child to have that recess time.
Thanks for sharing!
Anne