Recess in the Middle?
September 4, 2008 by nporter
Reading this article from my RSS feed got me thinking about our recess situation at Appleton. I feel that our school has stuck with recess for our middle school students, even with all the other pressures out there in the education day. I see it as a tremendous benefit for the kids but having to balance it with schedule conflicts, less class time and increased duties is not always an easy sell.
Reading this article is yet one more bit of support or justification for our hold out on having recess and providing that time for students to be physically active. As we all try to cover duties, squeeze in class time and PE classes around our kids recess time remember the importance of that seeming “lost” time as a vital part of our days at AVS.
What are your thoughts on this?
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Than, I enjoyed the article. I agree that MS students need physical activity as much as the younger students…maybe more…and definitely need time to be social. That social time will happen whether we schedule it in or not…we’ll just lose it from class focus if it’s not in the schedule. The developmental needs of “tweeners” are quite persistent. I am thrilled with how physically active and mentally and socially playful our older students are when they are out. it is a very healthy mix. At our school, we do face a challenge to manage overall transitions and to better balance supervision loads if we are committed to the current schedule continuing.
I am committed to recess in the middle school. The article and most research backs up my gut response as an educator and a parent. Fresh air and exercise are crucial – that ole B-K intielligence is a live and well!