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The importance of recess in elementary school
The importance of recess in elementary school
The importance of recess in elementary school
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When I was five years old, the word recess was one of my favorite words. Recess automatically meant the best part of day to me, it was time to go outside and play. Recess meant we were going to be let free and have take some time to cooldown our minds from learning. I remember in the later grades of elementary school if we didn't have recess our days we ruined. In 5th grade our teacher always told us that we wouldn’t get recess in middle school, but we would never listen. Recess was my favorite word when I five years old!
Next, when I was twelve years old it was our first year of middle school. When we first arrived at middle school the word Recess meant little to me going in, expecting we wouldn’t get recess. But the lack of our 5th grade teachers knowledge, we did get recess. This recess was longer than our elementary school recess which was the best part of it. Throughout the year our recess got even better, after the many snow days, they ended up making our recess longer to make up lost time from the snow. When I was twelve years old, recess still meant the world to me!
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Finally, When I was 15 years old the word was in the past.
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
anymore. In the future, when I reach 35 years old and have a family, recess will start to mean so much more to me again. I will be able to tell stories to my kids about all of my adventures that happened during recess. The word will come back to my life and remind me of the, zero responsibility days. I will make it my life mission to get back on the playground one of these days and just pretend i'm back to the age of five! Recess has and will be my all-time favorite word!
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.
I believe that in middle school, it is a necessity for kids to be involved in extracurricular sports to learn knew skills that they can apply on and off the field. Due to budget cuts, more and more schools have had to cut extracurricular sports. I know that I want sports to come back and so do many kids in middle school. Sports will benefit your health and many other aspects that help you become successful.
Are teachers enforcing discipline mechanisms in a healthy way for children? Researchers would answer no to this question because of one major factor: removing recess from a child’s school day. In Jessica Lahey’s article, “Students Who Lose Recess Are the Ones Who Need It Most”, she states that “schools continue to take away recess privileges as a penalty for academic or behavioral transgressions”. Many teachers follow this procedure because they assume that they are teaching the child how to act with appropriate behaviors. However, it is a proven fact that eliminating a student’s recess results in a negative outcome. Therefore, recess should not be removed from a child’s school day because this recreation plays a role in their physical health,
Sindelar, R. (2004). Recess: Is it needed in the 21st Century? Clearinghouse on Early Education and Parenting, Vol. 18, Issue 1, 1-6.
Council on School Health (2012). The Crucial Role of Recess in School. Pediatrics, 131, 182-189. doi: 10.1542/peds.2012-2993
Recess is essential to the development of children mentally through the releasing of chemicals that rebuild the brain during physical activity, improving their state of mind through creativity, improves social skills, and the risks can be worked with. The ideal recess that children in at least elementary schools should have is a minimum of an hour of completely unstructured play. Unstructured play is essential to children and should never be taken away.
Young students today that are going through the middle school system are between the ages of 10 to 15 years old. They are going through a crucial stage of life in which many alterations occur such as emotional, physical, and mental changes. All of these changes that they must go through are essential to develop into healthy, fully functional, and self-actualized people. As a future educator, I need to see that middle school students are unique; they are too old to be considered children and too young to be considered adolescents. Middle level professionals have certain roles and responsibilities as it relates to the development of young adolescents. We must present ourselves as role models for the students and have the responsibility to make sure that as they progress through middle school they have enriched, meaningful learning experiences through challenging, exploratory, integrative, and relevant curriculum. As a future educator, I need to understand and recognize these changes, strengths, weaknesses, and diversities and be able to plan accordingly and appropriately for them in the classroom. I have developed my own philosophy for teaching at the middle level, based on this evidence and my understanding about the unique characteristics of middle level adolescents that will help mold me into a great middle school educator!
In 4th grade we were allowed 3 recesses a day. We played a variety of games including football, basketball, and baseball. We liked playing football the most and we played it pretty much everyday. At the end of the day, on our last recess, we were all worn out from the long day but we still started up a game of football. When the bell rang we went out on the field and started making team captains and picking teams. We would designate a quarterback on each team then everyone else would be wide receivers.Just imagine a bunch of 10 year olds throwing footballs as far as we could while the rest of us tried to run under it and catch it. Once or twice in a game we would throw a running back in the formation and run a toss, but not very often.
The second classroom that I observed was a second grade classroom and I notice that there was one student who was an ELL. The teacher informed to me that this student had just came from Dominican Republic in September and started school and after school 2 weeks later then everybody else. The first SEI strategy that I notice that the teacher applied to her lesson was guided interaction. Before the teacher read the book called “The Recess Queen” she had a conversation with the students. She asks the students if they have every been bullied or knew someone who has been bullied. The students first shared out and then talked with a partner about their experiences. After this the teacher read “The Recess Queen” to the students. After the teacher
Schools all over the country are considering, if not already applying, the removal of recess for elementary school students. Having recess has scientifically proven to play a substantial part in the social development of a child, their physical health, and the amount of attention they pay in the classroom. For example the Tennessee Board of Education says, "It is the position of the NASPE that all elementary school children should be provided with at least one daily period of recess of at least 20 minutes on length" (National Association for Sports and Physical Education). Keeping recess in schools could help lower the childhood obesity rate, help children to be more attentive in class, and assist in the development of their much needed social skills. These aspects are essential to academic healthiness and to your child succeeding academically. Removing recess could cause a dramatic decline in the graduation rate in the U.S.
We were traveling thought all the beautiful places and cities in the country. During our vacation, one day we stopped at a restaurant in a small town. As we were eating, my 16-year-old cousin said to me hurry up, finish your meal and we’ll go play outside. I was a little boy just turned six years. I was excited to go play outside with my cousin, so I was the first one to finish with my meal.
On that fateful day in March, I was a couple months shy of my third birthday. My family and I lived in New Mexico at the time and were renting a house with an outdoor in-ground pool. The day was beautiful. I was outside with my oldest sister Rachel and my father. Rachel was diligently reading curled up on a bench that sat against the house, and my father was mowing the backyard. My mother and my other sister were in the house. Off to one side of the house there was a group of large bushes. I was playing over there with one of her large cooking pots, off in my own little world. At one point while amusing and en...
Young adolescents can be described as ages 10-15 years old, but it is also considered that adolescence continues until the age of 25. During this time in an adolescent’s life there are many internal and external factors that affect the development of each individual. The influence that an adolescent’s peers, parents, and community have on them can be conflicting and therefore cause stress. Trying to meet the expectations of others during a time where one is going through so many forms of physical, psychological, and cognitive development can be trying for a middle school aged student. They are expected to focus on their education and the expectation of other outside influences while their bodies are growing and developing into an adult body. When development happens differently for these kids it can affect their psychological development if they focus too much on how fast, or slow they are developing in comparison to their peers. Some adolescents may let their peers influence their behaviors creating a problem with how they interact with others, or how they view themselves as a person. The middle school is a place where students are guided through these developmental experiences with the help of their peers, teachers, administrators, parents and community.
It was the second semester of fourth grade year. My parents had recently bought a new house in a nice quite neighborhood. I was ecstatic I always wanted to move to a new house. I was tired of my old home since I had already explored every corner, nook, and cranny. The moment I realized I would have to leave my old friends behind was one of the most devastating moments of my life. I didn’t want to switch schools and make new friends. Yet at the same time was an interesting new experience.