Regularly scheduled recess time within an elementary school day is incredibly important for a childs cognitive, emotional, physical, and social well-being. To reduce school bullying, the school will have to implement a prevention program. In education, there are myriad pedagogical approaches, philosophies, curricula, and programs. Neuroscientist Sergio Pellis agrees, saying, countries where they actually have more recess tend to have higher academic performance than countries where recess is less [sic]. Gifted children may actually be ideally positioned to benefit from such a shift; the use of best practices such as preassessments and compacting can buy back time from academic pursuits time which may then be used, instead, for recess. :). Recess also allows children to release all the energy that they build up throughout the day to help them become more attentive in the classroom. But a 2010 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found positive associations between recess and academic performance. The game has become a great equalizer, even the best athletes get tagged out. by providing our Middle and Upper School students with an innovative new installation to experience play. Active students are better learners I know that recess decreases learning time. Recess is a necessary break in the day for optimizing a childs social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development, the AAP wrote in a 2013 policy statement. However, most people agree that play Have we really structured our schools around the principle that these tenets of conventional wisdom no longer apply after this arbitrary milepost has been passed? Have studentsconsider how they can help a classmate whos being bullied with our debate How Can You Help When Someone Is Being Bullied?, The debate presents benefits and drawbacks of breaks during the school day., The text consists of an introduction followed by two sections, one that argues in favor of recess and one that argues against it. Over the past 20 years, many schools have squeezed recess out of the schedule to focus more on learning. What do you think are the two sides of the issue? Children need recess, and schools benefit from giving it to them. Please enable JavaScript to properly view our site. For that reason, play can also include art, like drawing pictures or playing with molding clay. Learn how your comment data is processed. Your email address will not be published. Accordingly, most youth don't engage in the recommended level of physical activity. Older students should have recess | Letters To The Editor https://thegraysonschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/grayson_loop.gif, https://thegraysonschool.org/wp-content/uploads/img_8051-1.jpg. In no case, however, didphysicalactivityenhance negative associations with academic achievement. Our children deserve the pleasures and inherent benefits of play throughout their school years; we must continue to offer them that opportunity, both in the classroom and out. Its as though we share the conventional wisdom of the Darling family in Peter Pan: there comes a time when you must leave the nursery for good and grow up. Note that he does not say anything about play not having rules, which is a common misconception about what free play entails.