General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhat if all the pediatricians and family doctors in a town started writing prescriptions
for RECESS, based on the recommendations the American Academy of Pediatrics and the mountain of research that is out there.
Would this empower parents? Would it start the needed debate in the school system?
This Texas school has tripled recess time, with great results.
http://www.today.com/parents/want-kids-listen-more-fidget-less-try-more-recess-school-t65536
The youngest kids at this school now enjoy two 15-minute breaks in the morning and two in the afternoon for a total of one hour of recess a day. Thats three times longer and three more breaks than they used to get.
The children always go outside to play games or use the swings and slides, even if its drizzly or cold.
SNIP
Eagle Mountain Elementary is one of four public schools in the Fort Worth area trying out LiiNK, a new program that boosts the amount of recess for the youngest students. The goal: to help children focus and learn better once theyre back in class.
You start putting 15 minutes of what I call reboot into these kids every so often and
it gives the platform for them to be able to function at their best level, said Debbie Rhea, a kinesiology professor at Texas Christian University who created the project.
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/131/1/183
Abstract
Recess is at the heart of a vigorous debate over the role of schools in promoting the optimal development of the whole child. A growing trend toward reallocating time in school to accentuate the more academic subjects has put this important facet of a childs school day at risk. Recess serves as a necessary break from the rigors of concentrated, academic challenges in the classroom. But equally important is the fact that safe and well-supervised recess offers cognitive, social, emotional, and physical benefits that may not be fully appreciated when a decision is made to diminish it. Recess is unique from, and a complement to, physical educationnot a substitute for it. The American Academy of Pediatrics believes that recess is a crucial and necessary component of a childs development and, as such, it should not be withheld for punitive or academic reasons.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)Field trips.
radical noodle
(8,026 posts)and most public schools don't have enough money for many of them. Some schools still have recess for elementary kids.
Ilsa
(61,721 posts)But mostly, free play is needed for socializing and creativity. I'm thinking they need more than 15 minutes for at least one segment.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)schools are under constant pressure to do the same, or better, with less. And reducing hours is one way to reduce costs. In the Chicago area, some schools have a split day of 2 separate sessions to accommodate more students.
murielm99
(30,805 posts)There was a school in a small community near me where they had a garden. Each grade was responsible for part of the garden. At various times during the school year, the students would prepare food from the garden and share it with everyone.
This school has closed now. I don't know if the practice has continued at their new school.
This was years before Michelle Obama. It was a project started by one teacher who was a farmer's wife.
mopinko
(70,438 posts)rahm actually took money leftover from security for that nato meeting that pissed so many people off, and spent it on school gardens.
there is a busy non-profit that i work with that manages them for a bunch of schools.
most of that is afterschool stuff, tho.
Mariana
(14,863 posts)several times a day? We're talking about little kids.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)Cutting recess is considered an easy fix.
Victor_c3
(3,557 posts)I'd gladly add a 30-60 minutes to my kids' school day if it meant they'd get more time to eat and play during their current recess and lunch periods.
I'd imagine this would also help to give the teachers a little bit more of a reprieve too which, in turn, would improve the quality of the attention students get.
gopiscrap
(23,769 posts)mopinko
(70,438 posts)we treat children like cattle, run the place for the teachers instead of the kids. hell, they are arranged more for the janitors than the kids.
to say nothing of their families, who could be so much more welcome in our school buildings, but are often shut out, and often due to janitor's contract rules.
the whole child is a pretty forgotten idea. it was the heart of educational pedagogy when john dewey started his university.
the whole child is the goal of many, many homeschoolers on the left.
we treat them like cattle, and then we are surprised how many of them turn into animals w/o conscience. authoritarian followers.
this is a start, anyway.
roamer65
(36,749 posts)Doreen
(11,686 posts)Children have short attention spans and doing long periods of learning just defeats the leaning process. I like the idea that they can get a chance to let that new info process and not have so much that not enough is retained.
pnwmom
(109,031 posts)they should take a walk or move around. This benefits everyone but is critical for children.
Doreen
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