Recess is a very vital part of the school day, yet some schools get rid of your free time. That’s problematic because it has a big roll in your academics. Your  No-time-for- leisure could be causing your low test scores. Being stripped of your play might be a bigger problem than you think!

One Monday in fourth-grade, my teacher kept us in all recess to take a science test. The rest of the weak, I was stripped of my much-needed playtime and noticed that my class was acting out because of the lack of fresh air! No one could pay attention, and my teacher was getting aggravated with the lack of respect and the amount of unneeded energy, keeping us from completing our work. Then I noticed… We need a recess!

When I came to middle school, I saw the same behavioral issues I had seen in fourth grade! Lack of responsibility, The inability to socialize, and lower test scores because of lack of free time. Recess gives kids a brain break when you go from one class to another and expect to be at top performance in each category! You have so much energy, and there is not enough lunchtime to talk to your friends.

Also, students do not get enough exercise! I take dance, but I don’t seem to do much dancing! Let me break it down for you. My class period only has 50 minutes, so we are already working on a tight schedule. I have 20 whole minutes to be dressed in and out at the beginning and end of class. That leaves me with 30 minutes. Then we take attendance & walk to the portable, which makes at least 5 minutes, then add 10 minutes of instructions onto that and bam! I  only get 15 minutes of exercise, and doctors say that we should get 30! So twenty minutes of unstructured fresh air couldn’t hurt a fly!

Adequate recess helps prevent misbehavior because children act out because of the amount of energy they have bottled up from throughout the day. 50 minutes is not enough time to get your wiggles out because you only get exercise and skip out on other benefits of recess like stronger relationships, growing imagination skills & relieving stress. A brain break is essential.

Is your school providing the best educational experience possible? Studies have shown that schools that have recess have better test scores because the kids pay much more attention. If your school does not have a mandatory recess policy, the answer is no. That is a problem! Your brain is like a sponge. You can only soak up so much information be for you are filled up and can’t contain any more information. Recess is a squeeze, and it gives the brain a break so it can soak up more information!  Recess improves achievement, and without it, students may not be getting a strong education. Thousands of doctors agree!

What if you don’t have enough time for recess? This is a big problem for schools, and I recognize the inconvenience! I know that the people reading this are probably not administrators, but you can give yourself recess! After school makes it a priority to have at least 15 minutes of free time because everyone needs recess!