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letting
recess
slide: by jannean dixon, m.ed. a decline in free time ask any kid what their favorite school subject is and you are likely to get one of two answers, lunch or recess. lunch is a mandatory part of the school day
, but recess time has been shrinking noticeably over the last few years. what was once considered to be an integral part of a child?s school day is now a luxury that can be easily taken away. local teacher hana thomas shares that at her school, ? teachers are allowed to take away recess as a consequence for negative behaviors. most of us try not to, because we all know how important fresh air and physical
activity is, but there are still some who choose to take recess away. have i taken away recess before? yes. however, it is something that i do only as a last resort and only take a few minutes, never the whole recess.? why is recess getting the ax? in short, recess is not protected time. ?e u.s. department of education website states that louisiana children must receive 180 days of instruction with 330 minutes per day dedicated to instruction, that?s 5.5 hours a day. typical school days are about seven hours long, which leaves about an hour and a half for everything not instructional, such as arrival and dismissal, lunch, transitions, planning periods for teachers, and recess. louisiana law requires children to have 30 minutes per day of ?moderate to vigorous physical activity? in school to ?develop good health, physical fitness, and improve motor coordination and physical skills.? instead of dedicating this time to recess, many schools choose to count physical education time to fulfill this requirement, but even then, some students only have p.e. a couple of days a week. local pediatrician dr. mandy grier shares, ?children six years and older should have at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day. active play is the best exercise for younger children, making recess an important opportunity. ?e 60 minutes of time does not need to be done all at once.? due to the increased pressure on students to perform, for schools to 2016-17 cover kid layla c. 6 6 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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