Reading, wRiting, aRithmatic.....and now for the fourth R - RECESS!

Pediatrics Magazine, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, recently published the results of a study of children and recess.

The objective of the study was to examine the amount of recess that children 8 to 9 years of age receive in the United States and compare the group classroom behavior of children receiving daily recess with that of children not receiving daily recess.

An interesting question that in this day and age of constant cut backs not only to physical education but also simple physical movement. Once upon a time, the school day included multiple breaks that allowed children to move the first break was called recess, the second break lunch, the third break was basically the end of the school day upon which children moved out to play on the playground. Children effectively were never required to spend more than two hours sitting at one time. More and more today we expect children to sit for hours on end and pay attention. Recess and lunch get shorter and shorter if they exist at all. After school activities such as homework club start immediately after the end of school. Then we wonder at the increasing prevalence of restlessness now called attention deficit disorders of one kind and another. We wonder at the drivers of the obesity epidemic not only in adults but also in children. We wonder ......

The conclusion of the study should give educators some food for thought:

CONCLUSIONS. These results indicated that, among 8- to 9-year-old children, having more than1 daily recess period of more than 15 minutes in length was associated with better teacher's rating of class behavior scores. This study suggests that schoolchildren in this age group should be provided with daily recess.

So it now turns out that the best way to improve children’s performance in the classroom may be to take them out of it. Fitness or nature time can influence behavior, concentration and even grades. There isn't a parent out there that hasn't learned the hard way that children listen, behave and sleep best when they have been running around and playing hard and fast. But in the United States of today we need a study to tell us what we all should be able to have figured out ourselves. Not to mention the lack of exercise in their lives and the attendant obesity and health problems this leads to.

TIME TO BRING BACK REAL RECESS BREAKS DURING THE SCHOOL DAY.