Middle Grade Recess is an Important Part of Child Development

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Middle Grade Recess is an Important Part of Child Development Kim Blanz, Mitch Haber, Kymm Haynes, Elena Roseberry, Roderick Earl, Kevin Hartwell, Kaja Alford Mercer University Tift College of Education – Atlanta Campus ABSTRACT THEORETICAL & ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS NUMERICAL DATA & CURRENT POLICY SIGNIFICANCE / IMPACT OF RESEARCH & SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE IMPLEMENTATION • Obesity rates in young children have doubled and tripled for • teens in the last two centuries • 15% of all teens are overweight • Even though 40 percent of schools have cut or dramatically • reduced recess there is a move by several states to mandate • recess including Georgia, Washington, Michigan and Connecticut • The Surgeon General recommends all students receive at • least an hour of physical activity several times a week • Children who are less structured in their access to the • outdoors gain the skills needed to move through the larger world • Recess offers students an active learning environment where • important social skills are developed • Instead of working on quantity of academic learning time, • schools need to work on quality of learning time • 39 percent of African Americans don't have recess, compared • to 15 percent of whites • Eight of 10 principals polled in 2009 say recess has a positive • impact on academic learning • One in five principals say the nationally mandated • requirements of NCLB have led to the decrease in recess Recess is at the heart of many debates. Schools are told they need to push to optimize academic and learning time, which has dissolved the time for recess in the middle schools. On the other hand, there is pressure to increase physical activity in middle grades to combat childhood obesity. Recess is a complement to, not a replacement for, physical education. Both promote activity and a healthy lifestyle; however, recess--particularly unstructured recess and free play--provides a unique contribution to a child's creative, social, and emotional development. Recess serves a critical role in school as a necessary break from the rigors of academic challenges. It is time to start integrating recess back in to the school day. For more than 100 years extensive experiments in student cognitive performance have proven that when breaks are inserted between periods of intensive work it distributes effort and improves academic performance. The quality and quantity of learning is improved when it is disbursed over time versus lumped into one mass. When students are required to perform extensive academic tasks interference occurs, thus negatively effecting cognitive performance. Recess is important to social development. It allows students to interact with peers and learn compromise, patience, sharing, and communication without adult influence or structure. When students sit for long periods of time with no breaks they build up a surplus of energy thus negatively impacting student behavior in the classroom. Results include fidgeting, loss of attentiveness and focus. Recess is a very important aspect in students’ academic performance. Eight of 10 principals polled in 2009 say recess has a positive impact on academic learning. It has been shown that play is an experiential part of learning that incorporates the mind, body and spirit regardless of age, religion, ethnicity or cultural background. Children who are less structured in their access to the outdoors gain the skills needed to move through the larger world. In addition, research proves that learning occurs best when the whole self is involved. Students develop important social skills such as problem solving, compromise, patience, sharing and communication. . Hyperactive children benefit the most from recess. Research shows that hyperactive children benefit more from nature than from medication. Students also need time to relax away from academic pressures. The brain needs time to recycle, and recharge throughout the day. Studies show children who have recess are more on-task and less fidgety in the classroom. In summary keeping recess in schools, even in middle grades, only makes sense. The health, social and academic benefits far outweigh the budgetary concerns. Recess may be the only time during the day when children have an opportunity to experience socialization and real communication. Neighborhoods are not what they used to be, so once the school day ends, there is little chance for social interaction. How can children with so few opportunities to socialize and communicate be expected to live and work together in harmony as adults? They can’t. Administrators, teachers, and parents need to unite to keep recess in schools. The research proves it. THESIS STATEMENT Students allowed to go for recess on the playground, on a regular basis, will perform more efficiently in class with less behavior problems. RESEARCH QUESTIONS LITERATURE REVIEW How has the dissolution of recess in middle school changed student’s academic performance? How has the dissolution of recess in middle school changed student’s behavior in class? Does recess promote positive social interactions between students? How should recess be reintroduced into the middle school? Does recess need to be structured? What effect does recess have on a student’s academic performance? What effect does recess have on a student’s behavior in class? • Studies show that students who are denied the opportunity to exercise during recess exhibit behaviors congruent with excess energy and become restless and unable to focus during class. Play reduces the tension that comes from academic pressures. When students play, without adult interference, they relax and experience social situations on their own terms. They learn important social development such as problem solving, compromise, patience, sharing and communication. • A Harvard study of 1,800 middle school students shows that students benefit cognitively from physical activity during PE and recess. Play is an experiential part of learning that incorporates the mind, body and spirit regardless of age, religion, ethnicity or cultural background. It is well noted in research that learning occurs best when the whole self is involved. • According to the Journal of Attention Disorders children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHA) exhibit improvement in academic scores on tests that involve attention and concentration when they took walks outside. According to this study, outside time worked as well as medication. • In addition, Surgeon General recommends that children get a minimum of one hour of physical activity several days a week. It is well noted throughout all of the research that without consistent breaks, students will become restless and unfocused, thus affecting their overall academic performance and increasing behavior problems in the classroom. NARRATIVE QUOTATIONS Recess is important because it allows for “play”.  Research has shown that play is important to healthy brain development. Recess provides time for children to learn to work in groups, to negotiate, to resolve conflicts, and to learn self-advocacy skills. Having some available free time for older children is essential to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth. –Rhonda Hawkins, Greater Atlanta Christian School RESOURCES AND REFERENCE LIST • Adams. C. (n.d.) Recess Makes Kids Smarter: The • benefits of recess are clear. Why are so many schools cutting back? Retrieved from http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3755758 • Kieff, J. (2001). The silencing of recess bells. Childhood • Education, 77(5), 319-20. Retrieved from Education Full Text database • Miztoh, L. (July, 05 2005). Recess cuts: A growing trend • in the United States. Retrieved fromhttp://www.googobits.com/articles/1316-recess-cuts-a-growing-trend-in-the-united-states.html • NAYEC (National Association for the Education of Young • Children). (n.d.) The Value of School Recess and Outdoor Play. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article Ref_Value_School_Recess/ • Pope, T. (2009, February 24). The 3 R’s? A Forth Is • Crucial, Too: Recess. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/health/24well.html?_r=1 BACKGROUND – HISTORICAL CONTEXT Recess has been an American standard for over 100 years. By the 1950’s no less than three recesses a day were standard. History states that school recess has been promoted as a time to take in fresh air and release pent up energy. According to the American Association for the Child’s Right to Play, since in 1989 a number of U.S. school districts have either abolished or reduced school recess. Studies done in 1998 state that most schools believe that recess is a waste of time and time would be better spent on academics. By 1998 forty percent of the schools in the U.S. had cut recess from the daily schedule completely. As of the year 2000 an increase in studies have been done to bring recess back into schools. Contact information