# Don't you feel sad for people that say elementary school recess should be banned? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 23, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-feel-sad-for-people-that-say-elementary-school-recess-should-be-banned/638631 "2012-10-23T16:18:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-feel-sad-for-people-that-say-elementary-school-recess-should-be-banned/638631/21 "2012-10-23T18:59:52Z")
I seem to remember some study indicating that kids who were given recess time exhibited less aggressive behavior in the classroom. If you think the quality of our schools is entirely the responsibility of ‘‘bad teachers,’’ I think you have very little exposure to the reality of education in America. You do seem quite sheltered. Let’s see how well you’d learn in a classroom full of 50 people where you have to share books and half the standard curriculum is slashed due to budget cuts. Oh, and don’t forget to throw in constant exposure to violence, being threatened and pressured to join gangs and having little to no supervision outside of school. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-feel-sad-for-people-that-say-elementary-school-recess-should-be-banned/638631/22 "2012-10-23T19:39:20Z")
> [@humblebumble](#): > > Why can’t they do that at home? > > No, learning is about at least knowing how to do basic math. I trust then that you never take coffee breaks or stretch your legs or go to the water cooler equivalent when working. In fact, switching tasks lets the brain process learned information better. Then there is also the inability of little kids to sit still for long periods. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-feel-sad-for-people-that-say-elementary-school-recess-should-be-banned/638631/23 "2012-10-23T19:40:32Z")
> [@Anonymous User](#): > > Yes, in fact it’s happened in some schools where if your grades aren’t good, they take away your break times. It’s pathetic. I can see it as punishment for specific infractions, but for bad grades? That’s dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-feel-sad-for-people-that-say-elementary-school-recess-should-be-banned/638631/24 "2012-10-23T19:51:39Z")
> [@humblebumble](#): > > Why can’t they do that at home? Little Cooper and Little Madison aren’t allowed outside at home because Mommy dearest is too afraid they will be kidnapped by child molesters. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-feel-sad-for-people-that-say-elementary-school-recess-should-be-banned/638631/25 "2012-10-23T20:08:32Z")
I think kids need recess. In fact, I think everyone, at ever age, needs a break in the day whether it’s recess at school or a coffee/soda break at work. When my son was in first grade, I volunteered at his school library. One day I came out to notice my son and several other kids sitting on the bench instead of running around during recess. I ask what they were in trouble for. Get this: because they couldn’t sit still during class, they were benched at recess. I would have had them running laps so they’d be tired at after recess and sit still during class. ---
**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-feel-sad-for-people-that-say-elementary-school-recess-should-be-banned/638631/26 "2012-10-23T20:50:33Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > I think kids need recess. In fact, I think everyone, at ever age, needs a break in the day whether it’s recess at school or a coffee/soda break at work. > > When my son was in first grade, I volunteered at his school library. One day I came out to notice my son and several other kids sitting on the bench instead of running around during recess. I ask what they were in trouble for. Get this: because they couldn’t sit still during class, they were benched at recess. I would have had them running laps so they’d be tired at after recess and sit still during class. Wow that’s a fail! ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-feel-sad-for-people-that-say-elementary-school-recess-should-be-banned/638631/27 "2012-10-23T22:12:13Z")
> [@Anonymous User](#): > > How? You said that recess for kids is very important, and I agree with that. Eh? I know I have a reputation here for being difficult to understand, but I’m sure I didn’t say that and reviewing what I posted doesn’t seem to explain how you could think that. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-feel-sad-for-people-that-say-elementary-school-recess-should-be-banned/638631/28 "2012-10-23T22:14:45Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > I wonder how much of the epidemic of ADD/ADHD diagnosis is due to kids not being allowed enough physical activity. I don’t know, but I remember recently reading in [another thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=660637) that: > [@How does one deal with a co-worker with ADHD?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-deal-with-a-co-worker-with-adhd/630164/30): > > - kids with ADHD do enormously better when they have frequent physical activity. (My guess is that the increased blood flow from exercise brings extra oxygen to the prefrontal cortex, but it’s only a guess.) > > - everyone, but especially kids with ADHD show improved focus and memory when they can spend time outdoors in nature. Even 15 minutes a day will do it. It needs to be grass and trees, not a few potted plants. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-feel-sad-for-people-that-say-elementary-school-recess-should-be-banned/638631/29 "2012-10-23T23:30:07Z")
> [@Simple\_Linctus](#): > > Eh? > > I know I have a reputation here for being difficult to understand, but I’m sure I didn’t say that and reviewing what I posted doesn’t seem to explain how you could think that. He thinks you’re **pancakes3** , who posted right before his post: “Doesn’t bode well for your Honors English GPA. Snark aside, I think recess is important” “I’m not in honors english, and it’s also my weakest subject.” “You didn’t seem to notice that I was completely disagreeing with you.” ---
**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-feel-sad-for-people-that-say-elementary-school-recess-should-be-banned/638631/30 "2012-10-24T00:13:58Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > He thinks you’re **pancakes3** , who posted right before his post: > > “Doesn’t bode well for your Honors English GPA. Snark aside, I think recess is important” > “I’m not in honors english, and it’s also my weakest subject.” > “You didn’t seem to notice that I was completely disagreeing with you.” Yeah, that was the problem. ---
**Author:** ![Saraya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Saraya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saraya)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-feel-sad-for-people-that-say-elementary-school-recess-should-be-banned/638631/31 "2012-10-24T13:24:03Z")
> [@Anonymous User](#): > > Yes, in fact it’s happened in some schools where if your grades aren’t good, they take away your break times. It’s pathetic. Wait, you get graded in grade school? Wow I just remember chocolate milk and recess. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-feel-sad-for-people-that-say-elementary-school-recess-should-be-banned/638631/32 "2012-10-24T14:58:59Z")
I used to be a substitute teacher. Recess is important. I’m even more convinced of this now that I’m a parent. Exercise definitely improves my child’s behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-feel-sad-for-people-that-say-elementary-school-recess-should-be-banned/638631/33 "2012-10-24T15:08:15Z")
I feel sorry for the poor kids. School is already a hard experience and they are trying to make it worse. Everyone needs a break and kids especially need some physical activity. Is this supposed to improve marks? Well, it won’t. I speak as someone who has been involved in educational institutions either as consumer or provider (sometimes both at the same time) or now more-or-less retired for 70 years. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-feel-sad-for-people-that-say-elementary-school-recess-should-be-banned/638631/34 "2012-10-24T15:15:55Z")
> [@humblebumble](#): > > Why can’t they do that at home? > > No, learning is about at least knowing how to do basic math. Because at home there aren’t a bunch of kids whose customs, abilities and backgrounds will be very different from each other’s. My nephew’s kindergarten group included six different nationalities and four different mother tongues; his neighborhood playground goes down to two and three if nobody has guests (no, I didn’t get that wrong: one of the nationalities includes two different mother tongues). I had a mid-morning break in HS, and even in college - our college hours were planned to have a half-hour where nobody had class. The Bros, my college friends who went to other universities, everybody I know who went to college in Spain and who had morning classes had mid-morning breaks (people with afternoon classes had, you guessed it, a mid-afternoon break)… I think the notion of “taking away mid-morning break” might piss people off more than all the “austerity measures” together! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-feel-sad-for-people-that-say-elementary-school-recess-should-be-banned/638631/35 "2012-10-24T15:21:00Z")
Kids spend too much time in the classroom already. I feel sorry for the ones who don’t learn during recess. They’re the ones who must have come up with this loony idea. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-feel-sad-for-people-that-say-elementary-school-recess-should-be-banned/638631/36 "2012-10-24T15:53:17Z")
> [@humblebumble](#): > > Why can’t they do that at home? > > No, learning is about at least knowing how to do basic math. What do you propose? That we should make children sit quietly and be talked to for six to eight hours straight? Yeah, that will not only increase their ability to retain information and behave during class, but it’ll also make sure they don’t go absolutely berserk once school is finally out. By the way, none of what I just said there would happen. In fact, the complete opposite would. ---
**Author:** ![humblebumble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5e925/32.png) [@humblebumble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/humblebumble)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-feel-sad-for-people-that-say-elementary-school-recess-should-be-banned/638631/37 "2012-10-24T16:08:50Z")
I’m not suggesting that kids shouldn’t get breaks. I think it’s ridiculous that kids have to ask permission to use the restroom or get a drink from the water fountain. I remember when I was a student and would complain to my parents about always having to ask for permission to excuse myself during class. If kids need to get a drink or go to the bathroom, they should have the freedom to do so without asking permission. I would really like to see evidence that kids are learning to socialize and what not during recess. I remember kids playing with their gameboys during recess and even bullying other students. Clearly, something is amiss with education since I believe that kids aren’t learning what they need to know and suggesting that they need more recess periods is preposterous. I don’t have a solution. I don’t feel sad for people that say elementary recess should be banned. > [@Bosstone](#): > > Yeah, that will not only increase their ability to retain information and behave during class, but it’ll also make sure they don’t go absolutely berserk once school is finally out. I would really like to see evidence of this from studies. It’s not the school’s responsibility to make sure that kids don’t go berserk once school is finally out. It’s the responsibility of the parents. > [@TriPolar](#): > > I feel sorry for the ones who don’t learn during recess. Again, I would like to see evidence that kids are learning during recess. ---
**Author:** ![humblebumble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5e925/32.png) [@humblebumble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/humblebumble)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-feel-sad-for-people-that-say-elementary-school-recess-should-be-banned/638631/38 "2012-10-24T16:16:28Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Because at home there aren’t a bunch of kids whose customs, abilities and backgrounds will be very different from each other’s. Absolutely false. I lived in a good neighborhood. The neighborhood kids and I had different customs, abilities and backgrounds. I went to private school, and they went to public. I grew up as Lutheran, and they were raised Catholic. We ended up following different paths. I went to college, and they continued working part-time jobs. I would like to see evidence of this from research. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-feel-sad-for-people-that-say-elementary-school-recess-should-be-banned/638631/39 "2012-10-24T16:22:25Z")
> [@humblebumble](#): > > Again, I would like to see evidence that kids are learning during recess. Your request implies that kids cannot learn without formal instruction. You’re the one that will have to justify that. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-feel-sad-for-people-that-say-elementary-school-recess-should-be-banned/638631/40 "2012-10-24T16:25:37Z")
> [@humblebumble](#): > > Clearly, something is amiss with education since I believe that kids aren’t learning what they need to know and suggesting that they need more recess periods is preposterous. “Clearly” something is amiss because you “believe” kids aren’t learning? If your post makes sense to you I think you are correct, the education system needs some fixing. 🙂 Seriously though, people assume they understand this problem without looking at the scientific research. They think our goal should be to increase test scores to match countries that emphasize rote learning. An emphasis on rote learning results in people that aren’t as good at creative problem solving. Play and freely experimenting with and observing others solving problems trains the brain for problem solving. The key questions in this education debate are: 1 - What skills/knowledge are most important for our economy? 2 - What is an appropriate way to get there? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-feel-sad-for-people-that-say-elementary-school-recess-should-be-banned/638631.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-feel-sad-for-people-that-say-elementary-school-recess-should-be-banned/638631.md?page=3)