The 2,200 students who march off to school this September at Thomas Deacon City Academy in London, England, will be greeted by all the finest amenities a school can offer. Everything except for a playground and recess, that is.
Rather than providing students with access to what one school official described to a British newspaper as the "uncontrollable space" of a playground, students will take formal exercise breaks in rotating shifts.
The arguments in favour of creating a school environment reminiscent of Pink Floyd's 1982 movie The Wall is that the structure will help to minimize bullying and unruly behavior because students won't have the opportunity to be bored.
It's an argument that seems to make sense — on the surface, at least — but for kids to learn the art and science of interacting with other kids, they need to have the opportunities for good, old-fashioned play — the kind where they're allowed to choose who they get to play with and to make up the rules of the game. And as the authors of the Canadian Intramural Recreation Association of Ontario's Recess Revival guide wisely noted, given how busy life can be for families these days, recess may be the only opportunity some kids have to play with other kids.
So what's behind the movement to banish recess in the UK and other countries, including the United States and, to a lesser extent, some parts of Canada? Safety and liability concerns and fears that recess will disrupt academic work.
The anti-recess crusaders don't seem to be the least bit concerned that their efforts may be counterproductive. A 1998 study of students in the fourth grade found that those students were less fidgety and more on task on days when they had recess. And, what's more, recess delivers considerable dividends on the physical activity front: kids are more active during recess than they are during gym class, engaging in vigorous physical activity 21 per cent at recess as opposed to 15 per cent of the time during gym class.
That's a good news message we can't afford to ignore at a time when Canadian kids are more overweight and less physically active than ever before. It's no wonder that so many parents, kids and child development experts are calling for a recess revival. It's fun and it's good for kids, too.
So what do you say? Post your comments below.
- Do they still have recess at your child's school?
- What's good about recess? What could stand some improving?
- What was the best part of recess when you were a kid? Do kids today still get to enjoy some of that?
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