The mystery of the disappearing recess, is not an uncommon topic of discussion in elementary education. The majority of adults remember a morning recess, a lunch recess, and an afternoon recess. I think most Americans would hazard a guess and say that there is probably less time devoted to recess today than in years gone by.
But here are some stark numbers to put today’s reality into perspective.
According to a statistic cited in our read along book,What If Everybody Understood Child Development?: Straight Talk About Bettering Education and Children’s Lives
That number climbs even higher when you take a regional or local view. For example, studies done a few years ago showed that in Chicago Public Schools, only 40% of the schools have kept recess.
The topic of recess data presents an thorny equity issue. Research suggests students are less likely to receive recess if they live in urban areas, live in poverty, struggle academically, or are Black. Given what we know about the benefits of recess and play in general, this is an unfortunate compounding of risk factors. (For more on play as an equity issue, read this thought-provoking piece.)
As many as two thirds of administrators report withholding recess as a punishment for a lack of focus or disruptive behavior, in spite of data that suggests that recess helps students to focus and is connected with a decrease in behavior problems.
As Dr. Olga Jarrett, a leading researcher in the recess arena, puts it, “It’s the kids who have trouble concentrating that need recess more than anybody else – and they are the ones least likely to get it.” (source)
Only 11% of states actually require public schools to provide regularly scheduled recess periods, leaving the decision to districts, schools, or individual teachers. And while generally, I’m a fan of letting schools and teachers make decisions about their classrooms, the catch is this: The schools and teachers are under unprecedented pressure to perform on high-stakes tests, which are tied to school resources, wages, and job security. (Essentially, it’s like Cinderella’s stepmother saying of course she can go to the ball. That is, once she finishes the litany of chores placed upon her.) Given those circumstances, many are afraid to gamble on anything that takes away from instruction time.
But here’s the irony. According to a study done by Dr. Olga Jarrett, a fifteen minute recess yields 20 minutes of quality focus time because it reduces fidgeting and increases the child’s ability to stay on task.
As neurologist Dr. Judy Willis pointed out in this perennial favorite:
” The amygdala is part of limbic system in the temporal lobe. It was first believed to function as a brain center for responding primarily to anxiety and fear. Indeed, when the amygdala senses threat, it becomes over-activated. In students, these neuroimaging findings in the amygdala are seen with feelings of helplessness and anxiety. When the amygdala is in this state of stress-induced over-activation, new sensory information cannot pass through it to access the memory and association circuits.
(The affective filter) describes an emotional state of stress in students during which they are not responsive to learning and storing new information. What is now evident on brain scans during times of stress is objective physical evidence of this affective filter. With such evidence-based research, the affective filter theories cannot be disparaged as “feel-good education” or an “excuse to coddle students” — if students are stressed out, the information cannot get in. This is a matter of science.”(emphasis mine)
On the flip side, scans also show us that brains at play are awash with neurochemicals that encourage growth and learning. As Dr. Stu Brown writes, “Play is like fertilizer for brain growth. It’s crazy not to use it.” (affiliate source)
Designing a school day that is void of recess is at odds with recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, is ignorant of what we know from research is beneficial for children and for a positive learning environment, and disregards what we know about human development and what is needed for children to grow up physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy. In light of all of that, I can’t see how an argument can be made to support such a decision.
And yet it happens. Parents and educators need to stand up for kids on this one.
Rae does an amazing job in this section of the book of outlining why kids need recess and sharing valuable resources parents and teachers can access to prepare themselves to petition for the preservation or return of recess time.
But amid all the data, all the research, and all the numbers, reason #1 is because they are human beings.
As humans, our children need down time, they need fresh air, they need to move, they need to play, they need to be social, they need to be in charge even for one small window of the day. They are whole children. Not disembodied minds.
Our policies need to reflect that understanding.
What is recess like where you are? Share your observations in the comments. And as always, share your questions for the author, Rae Pica. She’ll be answering YOUR questions in the last post in the series!
Just getting started? Check out the read along schedule here!
Recess is often taken away from children in our public elementary school as a form of punishment. And yet, the ones most disruptive are the ones most in need of some movement and free time. It’s extremely frustrating to hear an entire class misses recess time due to one child’s actions. But it happens day in and day out. As a parent, what can I do to ensure this does not continue? Many parents have asked teachers directly and/or informed the principal of this consistent form of punishment. Yet nothing seems to change. Any ideas? How else can parents be actively engaged in encouraging daily recess time for their children?
I’ll pass this along to Rae. My take on it would be to find a way to amicably advocate for recess, but it sounds like you’ve already gone that route. If it’s already a topic of discussion, I think I’d put together all the data I could find that shows the benefits of recess and the problems created by withholding it. There comes a point when reason and evidence overrules habit.
Did anything come of this? I would really love an answer. I too have had no success in talking with the teacher or school.
I have the same problems in my daughter’s school. Piddly amounts of recess to begin with, and then revocation when a 6 year-old can’t sit still for a 7 hour school day. And don’t forget lunch. It’s not the free time I had. It’s sit down on a picnic table in a cafeteria, mandated minimum spacing between bodies and mandated maximum speaking — 30 minutes of being forced to sit still, and a _maximum_ of 15 minutes of very controlled recess (almost every action is “not allowed” because it could be “dangerous”). I volunteer weekly and the teachers spend all of recess telling kids that they can’t do something because it’s against the “Recess rules” and monitoring kids who are stuck sitting because they didn’t sit still in class!
Recess is so important! I had no idea that there are schools who have removed it all together. All the brain research I’ve read, especially on children, talks about the importance of taking breaks and allowing kids time to process what they’re learning in unstructured play time. My goodness! I understand that some of these under performing schools are trying to close the achievement gap for students who may not have a lot of support at home, but to me it seems that they are shooting themselves in the foot. Work hard, play hard is my motto.
Isn’t the irony of expecting more while giving less than the best just painful? Shooting themselves in the foot is an apt metaphor. I prefer your motto! Thanks for reading!