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increase performance scores, and for teachers to receive high ratings on their
students
? test scores, it is no wonder that schools are chipping away at unstructured time. former school principal teryn bryant moved to louisiana three years ago to help struggling schools in baton rouge. she was immediately shaken by the shift in the way
recess
time is valued, ?when i moved here, i was shocked that the organization i worked for insisted on removing
recess
, including any sports activities, from the traditional school program that
students
were accustomed to. at the time, it was explained to me that
students
had to catch up on academics and that we needed to find additional instructional minutes.? her school chose required dance classes as the replacement for
recess
. ?while many of the
students
enjoyed the structured dance classes, as a school leader, i struggled with the potential harm to child development these classes might have on the autonomy of young
children
learning to socialize on their own in a traditional
recess
setting,? bryant says. east baton rouge elementary physical education teacher grace ford reported that her school took away one of the
students
? two 10-minute
recess
es. ?at 10 minutes was added to ancillary class, exchanging free play for structured time. now her
students
have only one 10-minute break for
recess
per day. ?i believe there are drawbacks to reducing
recess
time.
recess
is a time for creative play and expending energy. it encourages
children
to engage in activities that will develop their physical, social, emotional, and even cognitive skills in an unstructured environment,? she explains. what are the benefits of
recess
? according to mental health counselor, tara dixon, ma plpc, ?unstructured play is essential to brain development.
children
are born with an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex in their brain. ?is is the part of the brain in charge of decision making, impulse control, complex planning, and pieces of personality.? researchers have found that unstructured play is essential to building new pathways in the brain. on the
recess
playground, some
students
may choose hide and seek while others may choose to build in the sand box or play a game of basketball. ?e point is, the child gets to decide. dixon adds, ?
recess
time allows
students
to explore the questions they must answer to play successfully: ?what is my goal? what are the rules of this play? how do i work with my peer to reach this goal? how do i work with others who don?t see my vision?? ?is unstructured time also allows
children
to navigate problem solving and handle the anxiety of navigating complex social questions. allowing them to do so alone is essential for both brain and character development. many adults find it difficult to fully understand what unstructured play means. no teachers, no suggestions, no rulebook.? in addition to brain and character development,
recess
allows for an emotional, mental, and energetic release that
children
crave. multiple studies have shown that physically active
children
perform better academically, and with better focus and concentration in the classroom. ?
recess
also helps with social development. it promotes
children
making new friends and helps them learn to handle real life situations on the playground,? adds dr. grier. ?
recess
allows
children
independence to choose their enjoyment instead of having someone else decide for them. it is this active play time that rejuvenates
children
and gets
students
ready to learn.? what can we do? one in three
children
in the u.s. is considered to have a bmi that makes them overweight or obese. ?is has been on the rise in recent years. despite mass education initiatives such as the ?let?s move? project of our former first lady, there are still sections of the population where the ability to affect this change is difficult and costly.
recess
is one solution that doesn?t cost a thing. protecting our
children
?s
recess
just takes some reshuffling of schedules and in the end makes academic time more effective. fortunately, some schools are beginning to catch on and save
recess
time.
recess
time is decided on a school per school basis. veteran elementary school teacher, mary simon, happily shares, ?my school values
recess
time. we have 30 minutes per day. when the weather is nice, we stay every minute we can. when we go back in, the
students
are ready to learn. we?ve had this time before lunch some years and after lunch other years. ?e timing doesn?t seem to matter as much as just having the experience of
recess
for the
students
.? ? 2016-17 cover kid jacob o. 6 8 b r p a r e n t s . c o m | a u g u s t 2 0 1 7
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