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DON'T TAKE AWAY JOANIE'S RECESS
Jane Shook, M.S.,CCC, SLP
Bruno Bettleheim, the noted
child psychologist, asserted that play was the work of children. More
serious work is happening during recess than
"idle
play."
During recess children learn to take turns, resolve conflicts, exercise
their bodies, solve problems and entertain themselves. All are experimenting
with ways to revive energy and modify their arousal system to return to
class more alert. Both high impact physical exercise and less strenuous
activities release chemicals in the brain that give a sense of well being
and alertness. When the body is alert, the various sensory systems
"talk
to each other"
so they can function in an integrated manner. Under these conditions the
body is in a state where the most efficient learning happens with the
greatest retention and generalization. Eliminating recess is
counterproductive to the learning process.
Recess provides time for
children to manage the stress of sitting still in a chair for extended
periods of time. Research by the American Association for the Children's
Right to Play (1998) looked at fourth grade children on recess days, PE
days, and no break days. The results found that children were significantly
less fidgety and more focused on their task after having recess. One child
interviewed in this study stated,
"When
we don't
have recess, I feel like screaming. When we do have recess, I do scream!"
Some children need to jump and fall and roll. Others hang out with friends,
walking around and talking. A few lean against a wall, or sit on the cool
rough sidewalk, or scratch in the dirt. Almost all need a cool drink, and
many a snack. Most children want to play with friends, but a few prefer to
break away from classmates to collect their thoughts or study ants.
Eliminating recess for poor
classroom behavior or lack of work produced is also counterproductive. The
children who are having difficulty with behavior are signaling to the
teacher that their sensory neural systems are malfunctioning, and
"acting
out"
is their ineffective way of getting their system to normalize. Children
having difficulty with completing assignments are also indicating that
either their arousal system is too high or too low, or their sensory motor
abilities are not adequately able to execute the tasks as fluently and
quickly as their classmates. Each of these areas of difficulty are best
addressed from the foundational issues of creating an environment to
normalize arousal, heighten focusing, and increase motor coordination and
planning. Eliminating recess to motivate children to try harder is a top
down approach which in effect says,
"Run
with a broken leg."
A recent trend in educational
circles has been to eliminate or cut back on time for recess to make time
for more academic areas of learning. In 1983 the 'Nation at Risk' report
cast light on American school children's poor standing internationally.
Educators responded by focusing more on formal training and teaching
standardized tests. This view saw time spent outside the classroom is
"wasted."
The theory is that the more time spent at their desks equals higher test
scores. In reality the 1998 comparison study found that the amount of time
gained from eliminating recess was equal to the time lost in non-productive
fidgeting. In reality the more time spent in preparing to test and in test
taking, the less time is available for real teaching. Eliminating recess is
counterproductive to achieving bottom line academic goals.
All people, adults as well as
children, have unique ways of calming their nervous systems after intense
periods of study and stillness. The US Army requires a ten-minute break
every hour during training sessions, because the
"at
rest" time increases the likelihood of greater results when training over an
extended period of time. Judges call a recess when jurors seem to become
fidgety or unfocused. Labor unions mandate both morning and afternoon breaks
in addition to an extended lunch break to ensure safety. Fortune 500
companies often provide exercise rooms for employees finding exercise
creates greater productivity. Our children should be treated with no less
respect.
Let's learn from the extensive brain
and behavioral research and apply it sensibly. Parents as well as teachers
need to raise their powerful voices in the political process to reverse the
trend and ensure recess is available. Parents need to firmly insist
teachers not eliminate recess for behavioral or academic deficiencies. Be
willing to support more effective ways that address both of these problems.
We have a small window of time to teach skills required for a lifetime; so
don't take away Joanie's recess!
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