My friend wrote an article about this very topic ( Click here to read it). Our society acts as if the second we turn 11 we are no longer children and can’t enjoy simple childhood pleasures. One of which being recess. We can no longer say the word ” play” unless we are talking about sports or video games. We can no longer unwind during the school day nor after because of homework.

Why we need Recess

Recess serves as a necessary break from the classroom. It also offers cognitive, social, emotional, and physical benefits that may not be fully appreciated until it’s gone. Many will argue that gym class can replace recess, but I beg to differ gym is about exercise not a break from the challenges of school. Since recess is unstructured time, students can use it to just have fun, or wind down during a stressful day. A recess is also perfect for social interaction, which kids of all ages need a lot of. If you need more proof click here.

What do Students Want?

To my surprise, only 50 percent of students wanted recess that is way less than I anticipated.

People Who Disagreed with Me:

“Recess isn’t necessary for middle school learning. Many take P.E. and that is enough. Though it would be better if there was some time to have class outside when the weather is nice.”

“Coming from elementary school, I don’t miss it and like the extra homework time”

“It’s a distraction to your work”

“We already have advisory, lunch, and before and after school.”

“We have advisory so, we can use advisory sometimes to go outside and communicate with our friends.”

“It’s somewhat boring, would take up too much time which people could use to do work, and is essentially pointless. Besides, middle school is preparation for high school, and high school doesn’t have recess.”

“I don’t really think it’s needed and it’s just a waste of time. Most students would only use the time to socialize or do homework, which is already taken care of through lunch and advisory, so I think actually implementing a recess would be too much of a hassle on everyone’s schedules.”

“Cause we’re not 8 years old we have no energy and we’re pretty much dead 90% of the day”

Now People Who Agreed with Me:

“We need a break from learning and we need to play and be happy.”

“Need time to work out their extra stress & energ.y”

“They should because it gives you some free time to play outside, especially a time for you to be more active, especially because a lot of eighth graders don’t take P.E., so it would give them some time to get more exercise.”

“Believe middle school students SHOULD have an option for recces. They don’t need to have it if they want, but some kids would enjoy it and make them feel better about school.”

“Why not?”

“In my opinion, I think Middle Schoolers should have recess because some of us aren’t taking a PE class and need to be able to go outside and get the fresh air. If Canyon Vista decided to add in recess I think recess should be about 30 minutes long because then that’s enough time to go outside and get fresh air, run around, go on the monkey bars, play games like tetherball or Gaga ball, and more things.”

“Because we need a break to run around and have fun!”

“Yes because if we don’t, those with anxiety problems (like me) will not be able to focus in class and fail at getting bad grades.”

Conclusion

Recess is fun if you enjoy playing outside but if not, middle school is for you.