Why Kids Should Be Longer Recess

Did you know that 15 minutes of recess each day could make your child smarter. In studies made across the world, researchers have found that recess has many benefits for our brains. Recess could help us from our behavior to our health and concentration. That’s why I think schools should have recess in middle schools.

This proposal serves as a detailed description as to why I believe that elementary school students should be required more free recess time. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) highlights the important of recess because it help the children create social skills that can lead to a happy and healthy adult life. Not only would longer or more recesses promote socialization but also promote a healthier life style for the children. Over the past few years we have begun to notice and trend in childhood obesity and through more recess we can promote a more active and for healthy lifestyle. Free play time has been shown to produce higher cognitive performance and better memory. Schools should not be restricting recess time because they see recess

Middle school students should have a 20 minute or more recess because not only would kids be happier and healthier but they would do better in school. One reason middle schools should have recess is that kids are supposed to exercise 30 minutes every day to stay healthy. If kids don’t get enough exercise, they become obese and unhealthy. Adding on, when kids are outside their bodies get Vitamin D from the sun and this gives their bodies nutrition and when they are inside they do not get this nutrition that is needed to keep them healthy. Vitamin D helps kids develop muscles and grow, so it is very important for the to get enough. Also, a third reason middle schools should have a 20 minute recess is that kids get very stressed over homework and school projects and if they are outside for 20 minutes studies show that kids forget about their homework and enjoy socializing with other people.

As a result to this the author states ¨For this reason, some of the that countries outshine the U.S in test scores, including Finland and Japan, have multiple recesses a day¨. In fact this can work for adults to like Google has a Lego station, Facebook has an arcade at their headquarters. Not only can recess help with learning but it also keeps kids healthy. American Academy of Pediatrics in 2013 statement policy was ¨After recess for children or after a corresponding break time adolescents students are attentive

Most middle schools don’t believe that recess is part of a school day, but in Finland students get 15 minute breaks during class and they can focus after the break. In our middle school, we don’t have recess and only five minutes in between classes. Even during lunch, we have thirty minutes to eat and hang out with friends. There are many reasons for the middle schoolers here to have more recess time.

These experiments suggest that the break students receive from recess can improve their ability to retain information learned in class. This supports my argument that recess is beneficial to students’ academic performance. Rather than wasting time, recess help facilitate learning by improving student memory, which will directly contribute to their academic and testing abilities

Think about it, when was the last time you asked a kindergartener what their favorite subject in school is and they didn’t answer recess? With increased standardized testing and rigid federal and state requirements, most elementary students are now spending more time in the classroom than outside playing. Most schools seem to think that recess is unimportant or a waste of time that is not needed in a child’s education. This is a very untrue statement, in fact recess is not only good for our health but it has also had positive effects on childrens’ everyday learning. Around the United States researchers, teachers, parents and children have begun to notice that recess and its effects that it has on children is essential in every child’s school

Before the 21st century the most common phrase when children got home from school was, “Can I go outside and play?” When homework was finished children made a bee-line out of the screen door and played until the street lights turned on. Children were very active and at healthier weights because they rode their bicycles and played sports such as basketball, football and tag. In present day, Smartphone’s, tablets, video games and other technology gadgets have replaced the outside childhood memories which mean children spend more time indoors. Recess in public schools have become a thing of the past and have been replaced with more academic activities that require children to be inside. Pediatricians Robert Murray and Catherine Ramstetter stated in their article that recess serves as a necessary break from the rigors of concentrated, academic challenges in the classroom (2013). Pediatricians believe that recess is a crucial and necessary component of a child’s development and, as such, it should not be withheld for punitive or academic reasons (Murray and Ramstetter, 2013).

Over ninety percent of kindergarten through fifth grade classes across the country are allotted at least twenty minutes of recess a day. This statistic dramatically decreases among middle and high school classes. Schools should assess whether their current program follows the updated guidelines from the CDC and SHAPE America. Some of the guidelines include not using physical education as a substitute for recess, taking away recess as a form

Students who are active in the day are more active after school, where as kids which are idle in the day have a tendency to stay inactive after school (Jarrett and Waite-Stupiansky 2009). Recess should be viewed as an adjustment to, yet not a substitute for, physical instruction. Both can possibly advance movement and a solid way of life. However, unstructured recess and free play gives a distinctive engagement to the inventive, social, and passionate parts of a student’s improvement. These advantages should be completely considered when settling on choices to decrease or dispose of time for recess. From the perspective of wellbeing and prosperity of the entire child, break time should be viewed as a child’s individual time. It should not be withheld for scholarly or disciplinary reasons (Ramstetter, Murray, & Garner

Recess reduce stress during school plus it helps you focus better in class.If kids have a break during school it will rest your mind equals less stress and increasing productivity.If they have a recess it going to make them happier when they get back inside and do there work,Everyone has a long and a stressful day even teachers so we should be able to have a recess

Students spend an increasingly long period of time in school each day with limited time for play. Children, especially young children need a break from long hours of sitting in the classroom and what better way to recharge than play. Play time is important to a healthy brain development and allows them to use their creativity while developing their imagination. Giving children time to play it's also essential to their social and emotional development. Recess may be the only time throughout the school day when students have an opportunity to develop those skills. But recess is a short period of time.

If students had more time at recess students would talk with their friends outside and not during a lesson. Also adults socialize through work and kids socialize a recess. They practice social skills for the real world. “Children need recess because they are temporarily bored with their immediate classroom environment. When they go outdoors for recess they seek novelty by interacting. But, when the novelty of the recess environment begins to wane, they again need to change. At this point, the classroom becomes a novelty and children actually pay closer attention” I think that as soon as our teachers let us out the door to go to recess, the students feel free to socialize and catch up with their friends. It can be true that students will still talk in class with a longer recess, but without a longer recess unfinished conversations would go on forever during

Everyone knows that recess is good for children, but most people do not know why, thus leaving room for schools to cut down or altogether cut out recess. This can damage children and inhibit learning. In 2005, an estimated 40% of schools had cut back or eliminated recess from the average elementary student’s school day (Bland). Teachers may need more instructional time to meet the new demand from standardized testing, but extended unstructured play is essential. It increases children’s cognitive abilities by promoting healthy chemical exchanges within the brain during physical activity, giving more room for creativity, and improving social skills.

Across America school districts continue negotiating as to whether or not recess is an essential part of a child’s school day. Recently there has been pressure to increase test scores in the United States. Consequently, recess is being cut or reduced in order to provide children with additional instructional time, but are breaks necessary for active learning? Recess is also a liability issue for schools since the environment is more relaxed and more exposed to the outside world. Ever since we can remember recess has been a vital part of the school day, but should that change? Will cutting recess improve children’s test scores?