The focus of this project was to demonstrate our knowledge of using rhetoric to properly persuade an authority to take action, such as a governor to pass legislation. I chose the topic of providing recess in school systems because of the overwhelming benefits. Also, being outdoors and exercise is very important to me, and it should be prioritized in schools to educate and provide the proper means to maintain a healthy lifestyle to children in our public schools. If this piques your interest, give it a read below. It was my favorite assignment to write, so I hope you enjoy reading it just as much!

Saved by the Recess Bell

            For me and many others, recess was the best part of the day in elementary school - we were able to run around, play games, meet other kids, and enjoy being outdoors, but that enjoyment that we all know is being threatened. To enhance children’s education, many schools have decided to remove recess in order to make more time for in class learning, but do these schools know the magnitude of this change? Numerous studies show the academic, behavioral, and physical benefits of recess, yet, in most states, there is no legislation regarding recess in public elementary schools; at the district level, 60% have no policy regarding recess, and only 22% required daily recess (Strategies for Supporting Recess…). Also, many organizations recommend that children and adolescents engage in sixty minutes of physical activity every day, however most schools do not provide the necessary means for kids to reach this goal. It is our job as a society to prioritize the education and health of children, however it seems to be out of our hands when we send our children to school. State governments should require their public schools’ provision of a twenty minute period of recess for children in kindergarten to sixth grade. This paper will examine the behavioral, academic, and physical benefits of recess to see what viable legislative steps state governments can take to provide schools with the ability to host recess and enforce those schools to provide all students with the ability to participate in recess.

Problem

Behavioral Benefits

            Throughout elementary school, many of my friends began getting diagnosed with ADHD or ADD, as their average onset starts at the ages of 8 and 10, respectively (Austin, Reiss, and Burgdorf). My friends who had those disorders and misbehaved in class, were then withheld from recess because of their hyperactivity and misbehavior in class. However, the CDC states that “Exclusion from physical education or recess for bad behavior in a classroom deprives students of physical activity experiences that benefit health and can contribute toward improved behavior in the classroom” (2014 School Health Profiles). According to a study conducted by Georgia State University, the correlation of behavior and recess is unmistakable. Ten percent of students were less fidgety on “recess days” compared to on “non-recess days.” Also, students were more focused on days when they had recess (Jarret, Maxwell, Dickerson…).

            Children learn invaluable lessons through recess, and their cognitive development depends heavily on their experiences in recess. According to Robert Murray, MD, and Catherine Ramstetter, PhD, “Children develop intellectual constructs and cognitive understanding through interactive, manipulative experiences [which is] a feature of play in an unstructured social environment” (Ramstetter, Murray, and Garner). This same journal explains that improved behavior in the classroom post-recess was true regardless if the free time was spent socially (which was more common) or physically. The studies performed show that it’s not necessarily the physicality of playtime that allowed children to refocus (behaviorally and academically), but rather time out of the classroom in general. Even if schools cannot provide of time of outdoor recess, there are many behavioral and cognitive advantages for students who spend some time outside of class.

Academic Benefits

            Along with behavioral advantages to recess, there are also many academic benefits because when behavior is improved, so is the learning atmosphere and academics as a whole. Pellegrini states that “to adapt successfully in schools, children must function in both social and cognitive spheres; indeed, the two are empirically intercorrelated.” It is vital that school districts see this correlation and work to improve each without diminishing the other. It seems that the only option districts have to increase cognitive statistics is removing recess, the primary resource for social interaction in elementary schools. This dilemma is actually easily avoidable when we look at the overwhelming evidence of this correlation. If districts want to see a improvement in academics, emphasize both academics and social interaction. The former is taught in the classroom, the latter is experienced through free time, such as recess. There are also many positive health-related benefits that are withheld from students when recess is taken away.

Physical Benefits

            Childhood obesity rates have skyrocketed in the last 30 years. According to the CDC, “the percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012” (Childhood Obesity Facts). Certainly there are other factors, but it is important to note that, according to the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the withdrawal from recess began in the late 1980s, and “accelerated with the passage of No Child Left Behind in 2001” (Recess - It’s Indispensable!) Also, Pathways to Family Wellness states that “research has even shown that children who are physically active in school are more likely to be physically active at home, and children who don’t have the opportunity to be active during the school day don’t usually compensate during after-school hours” (Pica). Elementary schools have the important role of fostering a healthy, active lifestyle in children through means such as physical education and recess. However, it has been shown that unstructured physical activity is the best way to create a desire to engage in physical activity, something that recess offers that physical education classes do not. With this continued suspicion of recess from school districts, there is a grave threat to kids’ health and future lifestyles.

Solution

            The evidence is clear that there are many behavioral, cognitive, and physical benefits that are taken away from children when recess is taken away. That is why I propose that state governments intervene and require their public schools implement a 20 minute minimum recess period for students K-6. This policy also mandates that this period be supervised, yet unstructured. I also want to note that this policy is for states to implement, rather than national government, because education rights are a state provision, per the tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people” (US Const. amend. X). This also complies with Amendment XIV, wherein it does not “abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States” nor does it “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law” (US Const. amend. XIV, sec. 1).

            Not only should state governments mandate this period of recess, but they should also fund schools to build outdoor playgrounds, especially in inner city schools, as they have less recess time already. It is a concern that in these communities, where crime rates are higher, there can be more violence and bullying on the playground. It is important that in these situations, there is more supervision and safety precautions, but there should not be a removal of recess altogether. The funds should come from other areas in education such as extracurriculars. As important as these clubs and activities are, the behavior, academics, and health of all children in school should be prioritized.

            Along with aforementioned provisions of this policy, teachers and supervisors of recess should be educated on the benefits of recess and how to conduct a recess period that is safe and constructive in all areas of the children’s growth. It is important to educate supervisors because there are many benefits to a safe and constructive time of unstructured free time, as talked about earlier. It is also important to note the duration of the allocated time for recess in this policy. The CDC recommends that children engage in 60 minutes of physical activity per day. 20 minutes of recess is a good way to catalyze a desire for physical activity in children while it does not abridge a large portion of academic time in the classroom. For these reasons, “national organizations (e.g., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Academy of Pediatrics) recommend that districts provide at least 20 minutes of daily recess for all students in elementary schools” (Strategies for Supporting Recess…). However, 60% of districts have not adopted this recommended policy, so it is evident that we need to look to state governments to provide all students with the time away from the class they so desperately need.

            The research has been replicated over and over again, and the results have all pointed to the same conclusion: children need recess. There are way too many benefits that are withheld from children when we take away recess. These behavioral, academic, and physical benefits are vital to the development of children and can result in unforeseen benefits down the road, such as a healthy lifestyle that continues off the school ground. Many schools focus solely on children’s academics—I mean, it is a school. That’s why the children are there. However, when you take away recess for punitive reasons or for the sake of academics, you are depriving children of academic benefits and counteracting your original goal. This is why states should adopt my proposed policy. Children are the future of this world and educating them should be our primary goal, so let’s do that inside and outside of the classroom.

Works Cited

"2014 School Health Profiles: School Principal Questionnaire." (2014). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.

Austin, Margaret, Ph.D., Natalie Staats Reiss, Ph.D., and Laura Burgdorf, Ph.D. "Onset And Prevalence Of ADHD." Mental Help. 05 Nov. 2007. Web. 12 Apr. 2016.

"Childhood Obesity Facts." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2015. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.

Jarrett, Olga S., Darlene M. Maxwell, Carrie Dickerson, Pamela Hoge, Gwen Davies, and Amy Yetley. "Impact of Recess on Classroom Behavior: Group Effects and Individual Differences." The Journal of Educational Research 92.2 (1998): 121-26. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.

"Recess - It's Indispensable!" National Association for the Education of Young Children. Sept. 2009. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.

Pica, Rae. "Why Kids Need Recess." Pathways to Family Wellness. 1 Mar. 2016. Web. 12 Apr. 2016.

Ramstetter, Catherine L., Robert Murray, and Andrew S. Garner. "The Crucial Role of Recess in Schools." Journal of School Health 80.11 (2010): 517-26. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.

Strategies for Supporting Recess in Elementary Schools. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 01 May 2014. PDF.

US Constitution. Print.