Socialised recess

[blinkingblinking]

Can someone direct me to information on this? I have obviously tried to net search for info but have not found any good information.
What I have found make me shake my head. Is this really happening?

[Aspidistra]

Tell us what it is and someone may come up with something…

[Polycarp]

Possible, and I don’t know Aussie usage well enough to hazard a guess whether this is the case, that someone may have confused the several meanings of “socialization”:

1. Government management and/or control of a given category of economic transations.
2. Government ownership and operation of a given industry.
3. Anything I as a conservative curmurgeon perceive as being to the left of me politically.
4. The process by which preschool and early-elementary school teachers and staff modify the self-centered behavior of very small children into the “plays well with others” standard expected of older children.

My guess is that meaning #4 is intended in this context, if I’m interpreting the phrase right.

[blinkingblinking]

@Polycarp

Possible, and I don’t know Aussie usage well enough to hazard a guess whether this is the case, that someone may have confused the several meanings of “socialization”:

1. Government management and/or control of a given category of economic transations.
2. Government ownership and operation of a given industry.
3. Anything I as a conservative curmurgeon perceive as being to the left of me politically.
4. The process by which preschool and early-elementary school teachers and staff modify the self-centered behavior of very small children into the “plays well with others” standard expected of older children.

My guess is that meaning #4 is intended in this context, if I’m interpreting the phrase right.

It is not ‘Aussie’ usage. Maybe that is why I am having trouble finding out about it. It is kind of like your #4. It is when schools do not let the kids have free play during recess. They ‘structure’ their play. Apparently there are some schools now without playgrounds or playing fields.

[WhyNot]

@blinkingblinking

It is not ‘Aussie’ usage. Maybe that is why I am having trouble finding out about it. It is kind of like your #4. It is when schools do not let the kids have free play during recess. They ‘structure’ their play. Apparently there are some schools now without playgrounds or playing fields.

Try Googling structured recess instead. I got a bunch of hits, including this article that mentions some methods and research.

[Kimstu]

No, “socialized recess” is a recognized concept too, though it seems to overlap a lot with “structured recess”. As Polycarp guessed, it’s primarily about using recess time for structured activities that emphasize developing social skills and reinforcing classroom learning, rather than just free play or relaxation.

Here’s a NYT article on the subject:

The Atlanta public schools, like many districts across the country, have eliminated recess in elementary schools as a waste of time that would be better spent on academics.

Precise numbers are difficult to come by, but most experts on child’s play believe the trend has accelerated in recent years. Atlanta is one of the few big school districts to implement a no-recess policy. In general, schools are left to decide for themselves, and elementary schools without recess can be found from Chicago to Fairfax County, Va.

In New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, individual schools decide whether to have recess; schools in New York City generally still have recess. But some districts, like Philadelphia, have turned to a ‘‘socialized recess,’’ where children are required to take part in structured, monitored activities. […]

But educators cite a panoply of reasons, besides academic pressures, to explain why recess is going the way of inkwells in so many schools: a fear of lawsuits if children become injured, a concern about the possibility of unsavory adults lurking at the edges of playgrounds and a shortage of teachers and volunteers willing to supervise the children.

‘‘We are intent on improving academic performance,’’ said Benjamin O. Canada, the superintendent of schools in Atlanta. ‘‘You don’t do that by having kids hanging on the monkey bars.’’

Recess has become so anachronistic in Atlanta that the Cleveland Avenue grammar school, a handsome brick building, was built two years ago without a playground. […]

The elimination of recess often causes an uproar among parents. But school administrators, who say they face growing pressures to increase academic performance, are being put in a box. Not only are they being required to teach children reading, writing and arithmetic, but they are also expected to prepare children for a whole set of worldly issues, from drugs to sex to safety. On top of that, many elementary schools are responding to increasing demands for fine arts education, like dance and drama, especially in more affluent areas.

‘‘There are a lot of things that impinge on our time these days,’’ said Darwin Johnson, the superintendent of elementary schools in Evanston and Skokie on the North Shore of Chicago, who faced a firestorm of criticism when he briefly eliminated recess last fall, before reinstating it. ‘‘We’re supposed to teach bike safety, personal safety, drug education, ‘stranger-danger,’ and then we have art, music and drama, starting in kindergarten.’’

[dangermom]

‘‘We are intent on improving academic performance,’’ said Benjamin O. Canada, the superintendent of schools in Atlanta. ‘‘You don’t do that by having kids hanging on the monkey bars.’’

Yes. You do. Kids need a bit of relaxation in their lives (much like adults) and playtime is proven to improve their academics and concentration, which is only common sense. Adults don’t work well for hours without breaks, kids really don’t work well for hours without breaks.

I’d pull my kids out of school if they took away recess. (Yes, this is a hypothetical threat, given that they’re not in school, but I mean it!)