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The effects of recess in school
The effects of recess in school
Impact of recess on classroom behavior
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American Psychological Association’s Stress in America found that teens are the most stressful age group in the United States. Teens face stressful situation everyday in school and it carries throughout the whole day. A successful way to relieve of stress is the take a break, and recess can be that solution. Taking 15 to 30 minutes a day for recess would change students’ attitudes academically, mentally, and physically guaranteeing a brighter student who is ready to learn. High School is referred to the hardest time in a life, and there are many reasons why. Students have to deal with work and activities that seem to pile up on each other. An athletic student has to attend out of school practice, which will stress the student out because he has no time to do homework. A nonathletic student will most likely have an after school job that will take up all their free time for homework. As well, some students are prone to procrastinate and waste their time. All of these different kinds of students are engulfed in stress, and need a solution to help them.
A student can use recess in their own unique way to benefit them from stress. The definition of recess is a break over a short period of time. This break can be used by students to get homework done, hang out and relax, or a physical workout. Alan Kazdin, a professor of child psychiatry at Yale University
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The break tends to make the entire atmosphere a little more peaceful and less stressful. Recess also allows the students to get away from classroom. An activity in the middle of the day clears the students’ mind of all work inside the classroom. More or less, recess is refreshing the mind to help the students stay focused in the afternoon classes. “You have permission and you need to stop what you're doing, and do something totally different, totally challenging. Something that's mindful, something that creates community, something that creates generosity"
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
Some people might say that middle schoolers shouldn’t have recess, but, middle schooler don’t always have gym, and they don’t get enough exercise, so recess would be beneficial to middle schoolers.
How beneficial would it be for students to have a free period during the school day? I will give you the reasons on to why I think students should have a free period during the school day. The reasons why we should have a free period include, having time to hang out with friends, time to get help from teachers with assignments, or catch some Z’s. One of the reasons students should have a free period is because it will allow them to relax, take a brain break, and hang out with friends. Students deserve to have this extra free time because school can be really stressful and having this free time in school to do whatever you want will help us to reset and recharge.
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.
In her Huffington Post blog article titled Here’s One Way to Wreck a Child’s Education: Take Away Recess, Haley Krischer takes an emboldened stand against the practice of eliminating recess; which is often done as a punishment or to make more time for instructional learning. I stand in agreement with Krischer. I do not agree with schools taking away recess for any reason with the exception of dangerous weather or environmental circumstances. Yet, research indicates how common the 86-ing of recess is occurring in schools. A study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2010) revealed 77% of school Principals reported taking away recess as a punishment, and 81.5% of schools allow students to be excluded from recess. Krischer begins the article by introducing her 9 year old son and his affinity for recess: “the only subject he will talk about”. She gives examples of how recess benefits her son such as other students who help him troubleshoot technology issues and challenging him to improve his sports skills. Indeed, the unstructured playtime allows children to explore their environment and develop new ideas and understandings of it and those within it (American Pediatric Association, 2013). Kischer also expressed that children need active play to combat restlessness and that this is especially important for children who may suffer from ADHD, noting that taking away recess as a punishment for misbehavior may be counterproductive and result in increased behavioral problems. A longitudinal study that followed over 10,000 students between the ages of 8 and 9 concluded that student recess of at least 15 minutes resulted in better behavior as rated by teachers (Samuels, 2009).
The article “Recess helps kids learn better in school” from The American Heart Association states, “After recess… students are more attentive and better able to perform cognitively.” This helps so kids can gain more information later in the day without having to feel like they are ramming a bunch of information into their heads at once. Recess allows a little break to let the information settle and for kids to relax a little. To add to this, recess makes kids “...more alert and able to maintain focus on the topic at hand.”, according to Kits: “5 Reasons Why Recess Helps Learning”. This increases kids’ attention span so they can learn more information later in the day. With this, kids are able to digest that information correctly instead of not comprehending the information at all. Thus, recess makes room for more information to be
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 ...
Many students who feel the pressure to succeed at the high school level have an unhealthy amount of stress. Students who feel this have been cheating, pulling all nighters, becoming depressed, and seeking relief in drug use, and self mutilation. On average in a recent study at Illinois high school students spend 3.07 hours of homework each night on just homework not including extra curricular activities(Jerushapope,2). Also in this high school students reported getting 6.8 hours of sleep each night, but 34.6% reported getting 6 or fewer hours of sleep(Jerushapope,2). Most high school students spend 2 hours of extra curricular activity each night thats not including homework so after those activities you have to come home and do homework and then you will not have a lot of time to sleep. Also most kids do not get a lot of time to spend with their parents during the weeknights. Some kids cannot even make it to the dinner table because they have so much homework and that is not healthy for the parents and their childs relationship. In ...
For instance, Martha Young, associate dean of the College of Education at the University of Nevada, reported to fairtest.org, “.....the quantity-over-quality approach to instructional time. We’ve unfortunately bought into the idea that more is better, and that isn’t always going to be the case, particularly when you’re talking about elementary school students. In some cases you can have a 12-hour school day and not make any more progress than you would in six hours.” This quote shows that kids need time to recollect themselves with a break. By getting a break, it can help them refocus and get more done. Additionally, The American Heart News Association, a news organization stated, “After recess, for children or after a corresponding break time for adolescents, students are more attentive and better able to perform cognitively.” This quote proves that getting a break in between is better than not getting one because a break helps kids refocus, instead of them not paying attention and getting nothing done. You could more work done in a less amount of time with a
For instance, for some students, the transition from high school to college can be extremely challenging. Starting a new school that is bigger with innumerable, unfamiliar faces can be quite intimidating for some. Also, the high work load and fast paced environment can be an unexpected challenge that makes it almost impossible for new students to stay on top of their assignments. In addition, numerous students desire to experience the fun and exhilarating side of college life, like going to parties and social events, but prioritizing their social life over their school assignments can cost them dearly. Furthermore, when having a good time becomes a priority over school work, it shows in their grades. Over time, this can cause a significant amount of stress that contributes to the student dropping
Today, many students report more anxiety due to stress than child psychiatric patients did in the 1950’s. In a 2006 survey of 1,300 students at a public high school in Needham, Massachusetts found that 58% of the students surveyed reported between a great deal of stress and extreme stress due to homework (Bennett and Kalish). Many students in today’s time, have so many things to do that it is difficult for them to come home, only to have to finish five to six hours of homework. This, with the added effects of after school activities and technology, only adds to the stress that is put on students.
Break times and playtimes are ubiquitous in teaching institutions to include both primary and secondary schools. In other words, this is to say that in this setting of learning there are some set breaks meant for recreational purposes (Blatchford, 1998: 22). According to published studies, in the United Kingdom, breaks are expected to take place during the morning hours, short break, and others will take place after the lunch break and the afternoon break, longer breaks. During the break time, pupils and students have different experiences where they can evaluate their overall feelings about the school life. According to Lee (2014), ‘When kids are free to play on their own, they can use their imaginations. They can interact with each other and develop problem-solving skills, learn how to cooperate and share, develop empathy, and learn self control.’ Sadly, in some schools valuable break time has been reduced in favour of more academic pursuit within the classroom. The school playground becomes one of a few places where children can engage in free outdoor play with their friends.
In this essay, break time or playtime is two different words which carries the same definition that is ‘recess’. The AOTA (2012) defined recess as ‘an important part of each school day……..Recess is an important time for students to develop important performance skills in the areas of emotional regulation and communication and social skills’.