Let the Children Play: Schools Must Relearn Importance of Recess

[Rhiannon12866]

My 5-year-old is bursting at the seams with excitement with the start of kindergarten this year. He tells me he wants to learn to tell time, tie his shoes, learn a new language, play basketball and make new friends. He attends an increasingly rare school that allows a decent amount of time for recess — something research has shown supports academics, healthy friendships and healthy bodies.

The average time Seattle students spend in recess has steadily declined over the past few years, according to a May KUOW investigative story. When the study tracking recess began four years ago, only one Seattle school reported an average recess time of 20 minutes or less per day. During the 2013-2014 school year, some 11 schools offered that sort of a recess.

What’s worse, the schools with the shortest recess times enroll disproportionately more low-income students and students of color.

Unfortunately, Seattle is following a national trend in reducing recess time in primary grades as school districts obsess about raising test scores. This obsession is driven by the federal education policy of the No Child Left Behind Act and the Race to the Top Fund.

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2014/10/06/let-children-play-schools-must-relearn-importance-recess



Recess should not be considered a luxury that high-stakes testing has made unaffordable. Rather, unstructured play and exercise should be seen for what it is, a cornerstone of childhood development and an important aspect of each and every school day. (Photo: Wayne Silver / flickr / cc)