Schools Leave Recess Behind

[Bob Schaeffer <bobschaeffer@earthlink.net>]

SOME SCHOOLS ARE LEAVING RECESS BEHIND

Associated Press -- May 16, 2006
by Ben Feller

One sure way to get parents exercised is to take away recess, the 
playful part of the school day when their kids can run wild. In some 
places, it no longer exists.

The proportion of schools that don't have recess ranges from 7 percent 
for first and second grades to 13 percent by sixth grade, new government 
figures show.

Put in perspective, the overwhelming majority of elementary schools 
still offer recess each day, usually for about 25 minutes. Most children 
get one recess a day, if not two or three.

What troubles parents, though, is a sense that recess is under siege, so 
much that the Cartoon Network and the National PTA have launched a 
"Rescuing Recess" campaign. Kids are leading the huge letter-writing 
effort to school officials with one theme: Let us play.

"The reason I get riled up — and that most parents do — is we see recess 
as an opportunity for children to play," said Diane Larson, a mother of 
four in Tacoma, Wash. "It's a time for children to be imaginative, to 
show innovation on the playground. And it's one of the times when kids 
actually get to interact with their friends."

Larson and other parents in her district want elementary schools to 
offer separate recess periods each day, but students often get only 
their lunch periods to let loose. The recess drop-off is most noticeable 
in third grade, she said, when preparation for testing kicks in.

Where recess is in decline, school leaders usually blame academic 
pressures. Under federal law, schools must test and show progress in 
reading and math starting in third grade.

But how schools manage their time is a local decision. Recess competes 
with many other activities for schedule time, from music and arts to gym 
classes and computer classes.

At Rivers Edge Elementary outside Richmond, Va., children get only one 
gym class a week, which makes their daily recess period even more 
important, said PTA President Wendy Logan.

"The kids study all day, and they need some time for social activities," 
Logan said. "And those kids who struggle sitting the whole day — they're 
the ones who need it the most."

Nationwide, 99 percent of elementary schools schedule time for physical 
education apart from recess. More than half, though, offer those gym 
classes only once or twice a week.

Elementary schools in poor communities offer less recess, and less 
overall time for exercise during the school week, than other schools, 
the government study found.

The 2005 school figures, released Tuesday, come from the Education 
Department's first study on food and exercise in public elementary 
schools. It includes no data from previous years to determine, for 
example, whether recess has been declining over time.

Local disputes over the elimination of recess have popped up in Atlanta, 
Boston, Chicago, Miami and other communities. Such local stories, not 
the national picture, worry parents.

To them, recess is an institution — how could an elementary school not 
have it? When are kids supposed to yell with their friends, play tag or 
kickball, just have some fun?

"It's how I believe they start building their social structure," said 
Sandi Hocker, a mother of two in San Antonio, Texas. "Their P.E. classes 
are organized, and they are activity related. I think (children) need 
recess just for the socialization."

In an informal survey by the National PTA of its state leaders, more 
than half said daily recess is at risk. Only 9 percent were confident 
recess would not be reduced in their school.

The Cartoon Network has pledged more than $1.3 million to save recess. 
That includes more than $300,000 in grants to PTA chapters for 
participating in the ongoing letter campaign.

Mark Schneider, commissioner of the National Center of Education 
Statistics, presented the government findings on recess and exercise. He 
declined to draw conclusions from them.

But given the obesity rates among children, he said: "I think we should 
all be concerned about any schools that aren't providing sufficient 
physical activities."

___

On The Net:

Education Department report: 
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid2006057

Rescuing Recess: http://www.rescuingrecess.com/