Open Gym During Encore
The amount of physical activity students receive during school hours has started to present itself as a major issue. This problem has become major because kids need physical activity, not only to stay healthy but it helps them stay focused in school and benefits them in many other ways. It is essential, for the good of Vianney, that the amount of physical activity we receive during school hours is increased. Physical activity gives students a way to get rid of all of our unused energy and help us stay focused in the classroom. In order to improve learning and class management Vianney needs to open the gym during encore.
Physical activity’s importance in the classroom is overlooked. Vianney’s students would benefit greatly from just the forty-five minutes of encore, if they were able to be physically active. In an
…show more content…
experiment done by the American College of Sports Medicine, kids who went out to recess for just five minutes were significantly more focused and on task than the kids who did not (Mahar). Kids who were physically active for just five minutes had an increase in focus, and were more on task in the classroom compared to kids who had no physical activity. Physical activity helps students to be more productive,hearty members of the community (Parker). Physical activity leads to productivity and leads to better focus. To be a successful healthy member not only society and in school but also in the world you must be focused and productive. If students at Vianney were more focused and productive classroom management and learning would be increased, which supports the fact that Vianney should open the gym during encore. Physical activity majorly affects classroom performance. Several studies demonstrated that any type of recess indoors or outdoors made children more attentive and more productive in the classroom (Parker). Kids attention span, which has become very short nowadays, will increase every five minutes of physical activity they do. Once again, this would greatly benefit Vianney students, teachers ability to teach without being interrupted, and the school's overall ability to learn. Research conducted by Active Living has shown that just thirty minutes of physical activity can enhance standardized test scores and advance to get better grades overall (Meyler). This study perfectly embodies the fact that Vianney needs to open the gym during encore to improve learning because with the open gym students performed better academically. Something else affected by physical activity is the attention span of people with physical activity. In 2009 a survey by Gallup for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation stated that “It's the kids who have trouble concentrating that need recess more than anybody else. Regular workouts in the gym or on the playground can improve your attention span and learning by 23.7% (Meyler). If students have a regular recess, their attention will greatly increase. This is important because if their attention increases during class then the kids will be taking in more information. Recess provides a break that allows the brain to regroup, and research has shown that memorization becomes more advanced when learning is spaced out rather than condensed. After recess, children are more likely to learn because they are less tense, more focused, and have a better attention span (Hagopian). Any amount of recess or physical activity has been proven to give the brain a nice break and makes the participants more refreshed, focused. In a study done by the University of Georgia, students who participated in 10 minutes of physical activity were noticeably more attentive than those who didn’t (Meyler). People who only had 10 minutes of activity were significantly more attentive than the kids who had no physical activity. Social benefits are also greatly touched with organized physical activity. Basketball and soccer have been proven to be sports that require communication between teammates, which leads to meeting new people and developing social skills.(Hagopian) Playing these fun team sports will require the participants, to use and develop important social skills that will not only be utilized in class at Vianney, but also later in life. People will also learn valuable communication skills, including negotiation, cooperation, sharing, and problem solving as well as coping skills, perseverance and self-control through team sports (Mahar). All of these traits are essential to having better classroom management and learning at Vianney. All of these skills could be taught through fun organized, physically active games. This discovery further promotes the fact that In order to improve education and class management, Vianney needs to open the gym during encore. If these skills were developed students would obtain much better social skills, which would improve the Vianney experience for both students and teachers. Classrooms would have less arguments, more creative problem solving, and more peace between students. Another topic affected by physical activity is the emotional state of Vianney students. Just being physically active and playing with others has been proven to reduce the effects of stress by 25% (Barros). If you are less stressed out, your emotional state will be a lot better than if you were stressed out. If you are never never physically active, you will for sure become overweight if not obese. Many students are physically active through sports they play, but many students do not play any sports. People who do not reach the minimum requirements of physical activity raise their odds of becoming Obese by 22 percent (Barros). If you are not playing a sport then the chances of someone meeting the requirements is a lot less compared to someone who is playing a sport. Being obese is not the only downside of not being physically active, studies have shown that people who are obese have a 20% more risk of becoming depressed (Barros). Physical activity makes you more emotionally healthy by not making you obese and then most likely depressed and by reducing the effects of stress. Both of these studies and statements, fight for the fact that Vianney should open the gym during encore. Classroom management, which is very vital to Vianney’s education, is greatly affected by physical activity. Studies have shown that students who are physically active achieve better academic performance compared to those who do not have physical activity. Those kids are also more manageable in the classroom, being about higher test scores and sustain a superior attitude toward school. (Mahar) Opening the gym during encore would not only make teaching easier for Vianney’s teachers, but also makes Vianney a better school in the stance of grades and test scores. In a study done by Georgia State with 50 students, 43 og them became more on-task and less restless on days that had a scheduled recess. Sixty percent of the participants, including five with ADD, worked more and were more calm on recess days. (Barros) Physical activity let kids release all of their stored up energy that without recess would have been released in ways that disturbed a class. Vianney students would be able to release the energy that develops throughout the day. Classroom management would be a lot better, because the students would not be as crazy. They would have less energy towards messing around, which would lead to them focusing more and the teachers being able to manage the classroom easier. Another major issue that is addressed by physical activity is the amount of energy of kids towards school.
Studies have shown that kids who didn't have recess, instead of being refreshed and ready to learn, were brain-drained, as they have lost out on the opportunity to regain the energy needed for focus. (Barros) Many people believe that recess was a waste of time and that it should be taken away in high school, but without it students become brain-drained and do not have focus towards school. This means that recess is not a waste of time, as it makes students have more energy towards school, but makes class a waste of time for teachers. Many students that I encounter before going to the last class of the day or any class say things like “My brain is done working for the day”, “I just need a break”, “ I just want to go play a game”, or “I am tired of sitting all day.” Rarely do students get to go outside and play a game or go for a walk during the day or class, but on the days that they do, after the time outside or playing a physically active game, the students were more focused throughout the
day. Physical activity would make Vianney better in many ways and for everyone. Students would be more in shape, be in a better emotional state, be more focused in class, and be getting better grades and test scores. Teachers would have easier classes to manage, students would take in what was being taught, students would be more focused in their class, and their students would be doing better in their class. Vianney would be recognized for higher test scores and a better overall grade point average. According to a survey by the National Parent Teacher Association, eight of 10 principals polled in 2009 say recess has a positive impact on academic learning. All of these facts are reasons why Vianney should open the gym during encore to lead to better education and classroom organization.
As I wearily sat in my seat, writing an essay on the importance of electricity in the modern world, I caught myself glancing repeatedly at the clock that was so carefully perched above the teacher’s desk. “Ten minutes, only ten more minutes left until school is over and I get to go home!” I told myself. In most schools, the average school day is about eight hours long. Eight hours of continuously sitting in a chair taking notes during lectures, doing classwork, projects, etc. During these eight hours of school, students deserve a short, outdoor break in which they can isolate themselves from the stress of working all day and just relax. Studies have shown that people who take short breaks throughout the day to do light, outdoor breaks are more productive than those who do not. A short, outdoor break will benefit students due to the fact that students will have time to relax; students will be able to focus more, concentrate, and be more productive; and teachers will have more time to prepare for the next class coming.
With an increasing demand for higher standardized testing scores, schools are finding themselves in a tough position. The huge question being asked is how do we create more time for students to learn common core. The simple answer is, we don’t! Incorporating more time for recess is the key to success for students everywhere. Many researchers and educators alike agree that participating in recess increases students’ cognitive, academic, and social skills. The amount of time allotted for recess should be increased for students of all ages. A child’s well-being encompasses more than just academia. Children spend almost eight hours a day at school, sometimes more. The school system and
The book begins by explaining how important exercise and being active is to our health and well-being. The author then transitions into a story about Naperville Central High School. This high school was in the forefront of a revolutionary new concept that involved vigorous exercise of its students instead of a traditional gym class. This new approach stimulated new research on the brain, and the effects of exercise on the well being of our body and minds. After the introduction of the new fitness programs, the school’s students showed drastic increases in standardized tests, and on normal tests as well.
Children can burn off bottled up energy at recess that they have accumulated while sitting through their teacher’s lessons. Lahey mentions that “studies have found that students who enjoy the benefit of recess are more attentive once they return to class”. This is helpful because the child will be focused on what they are learning instead of fidgeting in their chair. Also, providing breaks to students while they are learning can result in longer attention spans. Recess is a break that recharges the brain and allows elementary students to control their desire to adventure. Young children are easily distracted, so recess regulates this by providing them with their own free time. Students become more self-contained after they return from recess due to their tiredness. This is useful in class because children will be less hyperactive. The absence of recess would not permit students to learn self-control
In the “The Crucial Role of Recess in School” (2012) article it explains, many schools are beginning to replace physical activity, like recess, with more attention to academic subjects. What these schools are forgetting is that well-supervised recess also has benefits that surpass academics. They help make a well rounded student because recess offers cognitive, social, emotional, and physical benefits to the student when they are young that they carry with them into adulthood.
This paper examines the issues associated to the disengagement of students in the health and physical education domain. Typically traditional curriculums have shown to foster anxiety and create undesirable competition amongst students through fitness testing. It is critical to understand the reasons behind the issues of why students are disengaging in the participation of physical education, as the sedentary behavior is becoming a major factor in the obesity epidemic.
Even though these problems exist, recess still has its positive aspects. " A daily break of 15 minutes or more in the school day may play a role in improving learning, social development, and health in elementary school children" (Albert Einstein School of Medicine).... ... middle of paper ...
Schools serve as an amazing venue to provide students with everyday physical movement, and to instruct the essentialness of general physical action for wellbeing. Shockingly, most individuals' get little to no general physical activity while in school. Budgetary obligations and the pressure to increase test scores have brought on school authorities to address the worth of PE and other physical activity programs. This has prompted a significant lessening in the time accessible for PE, and in a few cases, school-based physical action projects have been totally eliminated.
“More than 40 percent of school districts across the country, … have done away with recess or are considering it” (Mulrine). This is a ridiculously high number when considering all the benefits that recess has on young children. Children develop and improve so many basic skills, as well as just simply getting a brain break. Educators, however, believe they need more time in the classroom in order to learn more information. What they need may be just the opposite. Researchers of Albert Einstein College of Medicine have found, “ ‘Recess may play an important role in the learning, social development, and the health of children’ “ (“Let Them Play”). Specifically, fourth grade students and younger should be required
A study done at the American College of Sports Medicine reported that “fourth and fifth grade students who ran around and otherwise exercised vigorously for at least 10 minutes before a math test scored higher than children who sat quietly before an exam.” Physical activity is said to improve much more than physical health, and is known for the improving one’s memory and focus. Another article mentioned that physically active students tend to outperform their peers in the classroom who are not active. The article also mentions that “physically active students have larger brain volumes in the basal ganglia and hippocampus, areas associated with cognitive control and memory (Medical News, 1).” Exercise has been known to help students concentrate better in their classes, and accomplish their homework later
In high school we no longer got a legit recess. The best thing we get are 15 minute breaks to socialize and prepare for our next class. Recess means next to nothing to me, but I will never forget the good old days of having a half an hour of being able to do whatever you wanted on the playground. Recess is just like any other word now. Recess to me reminds me of freedom, although we get more privileges in high school, we don't get to have the time of our lives
Physical education exists in schools to help students perform physical activity in schools and promote healthy lifestyles. It is extremely important that physical education teachers promote physical activity and healthy diets to young students because they are the ones who will be at risk of developing health issues such as obesity. Physical educators need to teach the younger generation the proper way to stay healthy so that they will continue to be physically active outside of phys...
Opponents of physical education in schools state that gym is not the best way to utilize students’ time. Students’ should be given the choice to participate in gym class or not because many students aren’t as athletic and don’t enjoy it enough to want to do it in school. Despite this downfall, PE is important in students’ life and even though some don’t enjoy it as much, they need it in order to be successful in life. If not, diseases and health risks could come up and it wouldn’t be robust. Ultimately, physical education provides superior benefits.
One out of every three children in America are considered obese or overweight (“Overweight”). America is at a point to where people want everything easy and fast. Last year, McDonald’s served 69 million customers a day (“Our Story”). These people are at home watching TV on their couches and eating this fast food. I think this is a huge factor to why obesity is at a high. The lack of exercise is a global pandemic. Only three out of ten Americans exercise regularly (“Information”). But for many students, the only exercise they may get is at school in a PE class. I feel like PE is a great class, but gets overlooked as a waste of time. The importance of teaching physical education is taken for granted. We can attain healthy habits, get exercise, and have fun while doing it. I believe physical education classes should be maintained and emphasized more than they are now. Most people view it as just an easy class but in reality, it could benefit our generation in the long run, and help make for a healthier future.
“Physical education plays a critical role in educating the whole student. Research supports the importance of movement in educating both mind and body. Physical education contributes directly to development of physical competence and fitness. It also helps students to make informed choices and understand the value of leading a physically active lifestyle. The benefits of physical education can affect both academic learning and physical activity patterns of students. The healthy, physically active student is more likely to be academically motivated, alert, and successful. … Throughout the school years, quality physical education can promote social, cooperative and problem solving competencies. Quality physical education programs in our