I think this is just ignorance and lack of understanding for children’s needs. It’s just plain sadness for taking away their break times because their grades aren’t good.
Now look, I understand (concession-refutation tactic of arguing, I love this tactic where you understand the other side’s opinion and then smash it) that grades are important. In fact I’m a freshman in high school taking 5 honors classes, 3 of which are core academic courses, and 2 are music related, and I have a 95 average which is expected to increase even more right now. But that doesn’t mean that kids shouldn’t have some of their own time. Okay really, how long do you need to take out of the day for recess, 30 minutes?
It’s not a huge sacrifice of time either but it’s very important. You need exercise for one. If you don’t get enough exercise, your health is going to diminish. I know I don’t get enough exercise, but I’m working on it, and most days, even I go out to get some fresh air. Secondly, it’s not all about the exercise. Like I said, I go out to get some fresh air for a half hour-one hour a day, and it’s very important. Your brain needs it. It’s not going to perform well if you keep it enclosed inside. In fact, it’s been shown that (http://www.grokyourworld.com/fresh-air-is-good-for-mental-health.php) fresh air increases your brain power, and it’s just important. When you go to work right, don’t you get tired of sitting inside all the time (applies only for indoor workers)? Don’t you just love it when you get some fresh air outside. Well that’s how children feel too. Last, but not least, children are full of energy and fun. Why hinder them? Just because your grades aren’t good, does’t mean you shouldn’t have fun in life. It’s not like good grades=fun, bad grades=no fun. No, that’s not a moral way of doing things.
And also, if a child is having difficulty in school, they he/she should get help from the teacher, say after school, or the parent should speak with the teacher. But, throwing away recess time is NOT a moral option. So what do you think?
I pity the teachers if the kids don’t get a break, and the young ones need more than one. I wonder how much of the epidemic of ADD/ADHD diagnosis is due to kids not being allowed enough physical activity.
No, I don’t pity them. The kids can get exercise at home. When I was as kid, I always played outside with the neighborhood kids when I wasn’t at school or doing homework.
I’m definitely not happy with the education in this country. At school, kids need to learn.
By the way, this is actually more of a debate, then opinions.
But anyways, I agree that the education here kind of sucks, but you have to be sensible. Shouldn’t they have some time outside in the middle of the day. If you think it’s disrupting education that much, then add that much time at the end of the day. We’re INDIAN. Do you know how good education is in India? Yes, we’re Asian nerds too. And even in India they give break time. So that totally refutes your point about education being bad in this country. This is not the reason education is bad in America. Here’s my quote, “Bad education is only the teachers’ fault.” It’s true. We have some terrible teachers in this country. Now my school is very good. It’s ranked 10th in the state. But some schools are just horrible. I’ve heard of a 5th grade math teacher not knowing how to do negative exponents and dividing fractions.
But seriously, you think that they should have no time in the school day to be outside and enjoy. That’s a little harsh considering that even Asian countries offer this kind of break. That’s not affecting our education in any negative way, and studies show it to be a positive influence on children’s minds. So, this argument of education in America not being good because of recess is trash (sorry for being rude).
You get recess in high school? I don’t think I had recess since 6th grade. When I got to junior high, that became a thing of the past. We still had gym, though.
When I was at schoool, recess or break as we call it this side of the pond would often be taken away from ya if you misbehaved. Don’t see this as being any different.
Also, it wasn’t half an hour long and it was quite possible at at least one (albeit unusual) school I went to it would take you fifteen minutes to get from one end* to the other so… meh…
*Depending upon definition of end. I would have thought it could take 45 minutes to get between the furtherst two bits of school property
But part of learning is how to get along with other kids not while sitting around a table, how to create games and rules, and running around and playing stimulates the mind.
So yes, recess and play are vital for kids, especially now when kids don’t go out and play as much. My girls have a hard time getting away from me because my ex will not allow them the room to run. Once they find they can play as they want they find fun things to do. Hell a couple of weeks ago my 6 year old complained because we watched some movies because it was cold and rainy outside.
Snark aside, I think recess is important, and to withhold it as punishment is misguided. Recess isn’t just a treat. It’s a built-in coping mechanism for the short attention span of children. Also, it’s the key component of the MAJOR benefit of grade school - socialization.
Seriously. Taking away recess just leaves you with a batch of kids that are unmotivated, angry, overenergized, and undersocialized. lose-lose-lose.
Recess does not get in the way of learning basic math.
I’m not in honors english, and it’s also my weakest subject. That was a typo. I know that was just a mistake and it should have been “your”. And I completely agree with you.
As I remember, we did these activities every day: Drink milk, nap time, recess. Recess was often indoors, I guess due to winter weather.
One day I was not feeling the milk love. For some reason it tasted off to me. I wasn’t allowed to have nap time until I finished. So I sat in the darkened room, slowly nursing my warm milk, while the other kids napped. I finally finished my milk at the end of nap time. Then I had to lie down quietly while the other kids got to play.