Recess is the Time for Kids to Re-Charge: Teachers Know it, Administrators Deny It

     Sometimes there are things that really frustrate me as a teacher, things teachers in the classroom know are wrong but they can't change because if they do administrators will reprimand them, things that could cost them their job. Yes teachers get reprimanded for giving students recess, not for giving too much recess but for giving them any recess at all.

       I wish school administrators would see the importance of recess, recognize and care about the damage they are doing.

  So many school children from grades 2 and up  only get lunch recess for 15 minutes a day which includes the time they line up to go outside and the time they line up for lunch. They might play for ten minutes a day, if they are lucky.

     To add to the lack of recess time, kids in most schools only get PE one day a week. Teachers know their students need recess, they know their kids need the active/creative time to just play, interact and "get the wiggles out" and just re-charge. However teachers are not the ones in control. The administrators are the ones who make the decisions. The ones who are not in the classroom with these kids on a day to day basis. The ones who say, "recess doesn't fit into the schedule." the ones who blame the teachers when the kids are not performing as well as they should.

     Teachers know what would help kids, teachers know that recess is important, vital to education, vital to their students physical and even more important, mental health.. Teachers know that their students would be more attentive and on task if they just had some time to re-charge. But again, teachers are not in control and jeopardize their jobs by doing what they know is best for their kids.

     As adults we become burnt out when we are not given time to re-charge, we become stressed out and reach a point when we just do not care. Why is it that education administrators in the US can't see that  is what they are doing to the kids, they are causing them to burn out at such a young age. How can these young people be expected to stay focused, excited and interested when their batteries are full. Their entire day is, think, study, learn, work, think, study, learn, work oh and add test, test, test. There is rarely time for a break for kids. Administrators need to allow teachers to give their students time to re-charge and refuel their batteries to avoid burn out at an early age.

Recess is Important
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