Yikes! No recess in all elementary schools in East Providence, Rhode Island? They can’t be serious!
This is the new directive teachers and parents are facing as we prepare for a new school year. As of September 8, 2010 school recess has been essentially eliminated in the city. No chance for young children to have any unstructured time to play. No chance for a daily dose of sunshine and fresh air. No chance for children to "get a break" from the rigors of academics.
Denying a child 10-15 minutes of free play time goes against all connections between physical and mental well-being.
Can any adult imagine their workday with no time to get a coffee, check e-mail, or make a call? No "unstructured time" at all in their workday? Why would any adult, who would not accept that for themselves, think it would be acceptable for a child?
The East Providence school administration is increasing Physical Education times, to comply with state law. This school year the children will get two fifty-minute periods of Phys. Ed., twice a week. All of this time is very structured. What will happen on those other three days when there is no Phys. Ed.? Their rational is that increased Physical Education time, as well as a partnership with the local YMCA to provide in-class programs will be enough.
So much of carefree childhood has already been robbed from our children. It is hard to understand why school administrators are taking away more. Isn’t it time to stand up and ask, "When are the needs of our school children going to be put first?"
I would love to hear parent’s thoughts and ideas concerning the importance of recess. Please leave your comments below.
Comments
Parents need to combat this by spending extra quality time with their children doing fun kids exercises each day whether it's indoors or outdoors.
Then they have 5 minutes to go to a classroom, which is often on the different side of the school. No break. One break for lunch runs only 30 minutes, ten of which are spent moving back and forth. Students are not getting enough nutrition because they are using the 20 minutes for the recess they should rightly have.
The options for lunch at the school are disgustingly unhealthy, with pizza and tater tots making the top of the list every day.
I am fed up with the American Education System.
How sad that what is truly best for children, backed by research should be so thoughtlessly surpassed.
I believe this is an ill informed idea, and the children being denied an opportunity to relax and just be children for awhile. Play is a child's work, or should be, for this little while.
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