Using recess as leverage for behavior

[lisamarie]

I am so fed up with my kids' teachers using recess as leverage for good/bad behavior. Every day it seems that they've lost minutes off or an entire recess. My DS-3rd grade gets 15 minutes of recess a day--assuming they don't lose any, which happens almost every day. DD-1st grade theoretically gets two 15 minute recesses, but they also almost always lose minutes or entire recesses. To me it is downright ridiculous for teachers to do this to the kids. They are cooped up for 8 hours a day and their one opportunity to let off steam is taken away.

 

I am seriously considering addressing this with the principal. I don't think it's right and should be banned as a practice. If the teachers aren't able to see how stupid their logic is in taking away recess, I am happy to open their eyes.;)

 

And that is my vent for the day.

[UmMusa]

I totally agree with you, but that practice is so common. That and the "silent lunch".

[Murmer]

Yep major problem...one of my worries for my ADHD dd if she goes to Kindergarten (which is all day). Sadly there is very little else to threaten children with at school to take away, so recess it is. Sad and not good for the kids.

[angel marie]

i agree too and have always had the same reasoning. alot of time why these kids are in trouble is because they need to get up and use their big muscle groups and release all of that built up energy. there are other ways to give out consequences.

angel

[Roadrunner]

My almost five year old was denied recess twice already because he once pulled somebody's shirt and refused to explain what happened and once because he wrestled with his friend. I tried to gently say that "explain" is a difficult concept for a 4 year old and more concrete questions would probably have done the trick, but... Let's just say the teacher's reaction was somewhat hostile.

So, I agree. I am fed up.

Edited September 28, 2011 by Roadrunner

[lisamarie]

My almost five year old was denied recess twice already because he once pulled somebody's shirt and refused to explain what happened and once because he wrestled with his friend. I tried to gently say that "explain" is a difficult concept for a 4 year old and more concrete questions would probably have done the trick, but... Let's just say the teacher's reaction was somewhat hostile.

So, I agree. I am fed up.

 

I agree with your reasons and don't support what that teacher did. A chore, extra work, something other than losing the desperately needed energy outlet.

 

Most days when the kids tell me how they lost recess I think why is the teacher punishing all the kids when only a few ruin it for everyone? Today DD said that they were all in line walking down the hall to recess and one girl was loud, so they all had to turn around and go back to the class and lose their recess. Seriously??? DS says that it's almost always the same 3 kids who ruin his.

 

Anyone complain to their school about this? I'm just wondering if I'm heading into a losing battle. Of course I am. But at least I will feel better after speaking my mind. :lol:

[Spy Car]

It is a very counterproductive form of punishment, especially when used as "collective punishment."

 

I would absolutely speak with your principal about it, but would advise having a small group of like-minded people (maybe 3) who are either an ad hoc group or representatives of the PTA/Booster Club (or whatever your parents organization is called) go in together.

 

Most principals are opened to reasoned discussion. What you don't want is to appear emotional or angry or anything else that gets you branded as "one of those parents."

 

But I would act.

 

Bill

[Caroline]

Recess is sacred at my kids' school. Recess cannot be taken away from kids for any reason. PTA pressed for this policy. It even got so far as state legislature, but the law did not pass. However, many LEAs have this policy. Get a group of parents together and see what you can do. Get your PTA wellness chair on board.

[FairProspects]

Quite honestly, this is one of the major issues that led us to homeschooling. Recess at our local PS is once a week for K'ers. One bad day (or tapping someone excitedly, scribbling on a paper, etc.) and your recess is gone for the WEEK. No PE either, so there are no ways for kids to get their wiggles out.

[Riverland]

My DD had recess withheld in 2nd grade because she didn't have her homework done. Never mind that she was sick for several days prior and didn't even have the assignments yet. I spoke with the teacher first, and he told me that if I was that concerned about recess, I should have come to the school and picked up her homework, have her complete it at home while she was sick, and bring it back with her on her first day back. I went straight to the principal and he agreed with me that it was unacceptable. In my presence, he told the teacher he was not allowed to withhold recess any more. Guess what? He continued to do so. Hmmm....and now we homeschool. Recess is granted whenever needed!:001_smile:

[jenbrdsly]

Recess is sacred at my kids' school. Recess cannot be taken away from kids for any reason. PTA pressed for this policy. It even got so far as state legislature, but the law did not pass. However, many LEAs have this policy. Get a group of parents together and see what you can do. Get your PTA wellness chair on board.

 

 

I wish the same was true at my school!!!! When I was a teacher we did not take recess away at either the inner city school, or the affluent one. Recess was viewed as a chance for kids to get the wiggles out so they could come back to school ready to learn.

[NittanyJen]

This is one of the many reasons we now homeschool.

 

Any kid had a case of the wiggles, the entire class would lose recess. I would gently point out the logical fallacy there, and get the response that they needed to "buckle down and get to work!". No talking was permitted at lunchtime many days, and lunch seats were assigned; my shy son was always assigned to sit with the rowdies to "quiet them down."

 

As he was 7 at the time these conversations began, I also tried gently pointing out that these solutions were not age appropriate, and very demoralizing to the well-behaved kids. I was informed that by keeping the top students mixed in among the rest, that, "A rising tide lifts all ships."

 

These people were terrible at child development, but aces at senseless aphorisms. Together with the "We are a Superior School!" banner in a school where both of my kids would come home and beg me to teach them something because they hadn't learned yet that day, I wanted to propose the school be renamed the George Orwell Elementary School.

 

Yes, I agree; recess is necessary, and the more trouble they have with wiggling and concentrating, the MORE they need it! Recess should not be touchable. We went on sabbatical for four months elsewhere; that school did not take away recess, and the teachers used means other than threats to keep order. It worked well. We loved that place-- if we lived there, we might not be homeschoolers.

[Spy Car]

These people were terrible at child development, but aces at senseless aphorisms. Together with the "We are a Superior School!" banner in a school where both of my kids would come home and beg me to teach them something because they hadn't learned yet that day, I wanted to propose the school be renamed the George Orwell Elementary School.

 

 

*snort* :lol:

 

Bill

[IsabelC]

I agree with you entirely. Recess is a basic need, especially for the younger children. Reducing or witholding it falls into the same category as denying food or toilet breaks: all things which aren't done to adults and shouldn't routinely be done to children either.

 

Also, I am mystified as to why teachers persist with punishing a whole class for few/one student's misdemeanors. It didn't work when I was a kid and it doesn't work with most kids now. :confused:

Edited September 29, 2011 by Hotdrink

[SonshineLearner]

My mom called local businesses and asked what they gave their employees for their "recess" ;) Break.... Then she asked why I couldn't have what adults legally needed. (Because of course, children need it more) Course, that's back in the day when they paddled naughtys :) But, talking loudly?? Can't you do a "walk back and try that again"? Or... YOU have to do rounds around the fence during recess?? Or ANYTHING??? besides... go back.. be quiet... get ready to learn. ;(

[MBM]

I am seriously considering addressing this with the principal.

 

Form a group of like-minded parents and then go in and discuss this with the principal and PTA. It's a nutty practice and all too common.

 

My son's former school also punished the whole class if the usual one or two troublemakers acted up. Completely unfair and ineffective. The ones causing trouble (always the same kids in this school) didn't change. Getting kids to change should be the goal, and schools that punish the entire class don't seem to realize that.

 

It's not easy to change these kinds of policies, IME. I once had the audacity to suggest our school make a list of suggested books for free-time reading that we could post on the school website. You'd think I had asked the school to pass out condoms by the response I got. So, good luck, Lisa Marie.

[lisamarie]

Form a group of like-minded parents and then go in and discuss this with the principal and PTA. It's a nutty practice and all too common.

 

First I have to get to know the other parents. DS went to this school 3 years ago. 2 years ago we pulled him 2 months into the school year and HSed him 3 grades in 2 years. So he's essentially skipped a grade meaning I don't know anyone in his class. This is DD's first year there so don't know any of those parents either.

 

But, I won't let that stop me. I have one friend there who covers 2 other grades, so I will talk to her to see if this is happening in their classes. And I may have to attend my first PTA meeting to see if anyone has tried to combat this before and if not, what can we do to fix it.

[heartosunshine]

I totally agree with you, but that practice is so common. That and the "silent lunch".

 

Being in 6th grade, ds only has recess if he's finished with lunch before the 1/2 hour is up. But, the entire school, with the exception of the Kinders, had to have a silent lunch last week because of inappropriate comments made by a couple students. Also, the entire 6th grade each had to write an apology letter to the Art teacher because a couple kids were disrespectful. My ds wasn't even in that class! I think someone spoke up, however, because ds told me that they aren't going to do group punishments anymore. We'll see what happens. :glare:

 

You'd think that teachers would want the kids out at recess. When I was homeschooling, if my ds couldn't focus, we'd go for a walk. It really works!

[EKS]

I agree that recess is important. But I'm wondering what leverage teachers do have beyond keeping kids in for recess and other "special" times (maybe art?). As a homeschooling parent, I have lots of leverage (screen time, free time, food, time out, whatever).

[lisamarie]

I agree that recess is important. But I'm wondering what leverage teachers do have beyond keeping kids in for recess and other "special" times (maybe art?). As a homeschooling parent, I have lots of leverage (screen time, free time, food, time out, whatever).

 

If one or two kids are misbehaving, then make them sit against the fence while the other kids play on the playground. Or make them do classroom chores, extra work, write sentences (my 3rd grade teacher made us copy a page out of the dictionary). I don't know what leverage they have, that's their job to figure out.:tongue_smilie:

 

We picked this school because they have gender specific classrooms. At the parent meeting they told us that the teachers had been trained in educating boys. They said that this meant if the boys needed to stand up while doing math, they could stand up. If they needed to wiggle, they could. They would use a lot more hands on things. Etc. So far all I've seen is 27 little boys being required to stay in their seat and not talk above a whisper all day except for their "special" (art, music, gym, library--they do one special for the whole week and then switch), lunch, and their 15 minute or less recess. No hands on things, no standing up to do math, no wiggling allowed.

[MBM]

I agree that recess is important. But I'm wondering what leverage teachers do have beyond keeping kids in for recess and other "special" times (maybe art?). As a homeschooling parent, I have lots of leverage (screen time, free time, food, time out, whatever).

 

I would make the specific instigators -- not the whole class -- do the classroom chores that are normally reserved for keeping the advanced kids busy. The troublemakers could come before or after school or during their recess.

 

I think it's incredibly ridiculous that the entire class gets punished. Last year my son, who behaves fairly well, was paired with a classmate who has serious impulse problems and parents who ignore him who happen to be big donors to the school. IOW, the boy was untouchable there. Anyway, one day out of the blue, he stabbed my son in the arm with a pen! I asked the teacher what happened, and she told me that the kid did this because he was upset that his dad was going to prison (for stealing about $100 million) and that my son did not provoke it. So what did she do? She punished the entire class including my son who was stabbed by this kid! She felt it wouldn't be fair to the stabber to be solely punished. (I had my son moved away from him the next day.) That is also why we chose not to put our son in the Jesuit school. It's full of untouchables. That is the craziness that abounds in too many schools nowadays.

[EKS]

I think it's incredibly ridiculous that the entire class gets punished.

 

:iagree:

[momma aimee]

m y sister's kids are in school and one intresting we have found is -- the principal doesn't alvays have any idea what the classroom teacher is up to unless a concerned (or pissed off) parent brings it to them. They do not have camera in the classrooms and the kids are not going to admin with issues. Sis has found that several times she vas quite displeased about something a teacher did or said and she took it to the office the prinipal had NO idea and infact vas very embarssed a couple of time.

 

teacher are paid emplyees (no matter the union's thoughts) and need to be held accountable. EVERYONE has a boss -- work you vay up the chain as need be

[Riverland]

my sister's kids are in school and one intresting we have found is -- the principal doesn't alvays have any idea what the classroom teacher is up to unless a concerned (or pissed off) parent brings it to them. They do not have camera in the classrooms and the kids are not going to admin with issues. Sis has found that several times she vas quite displeased about something a teacher did or said and she took it to the office the prinipal had NO idea and infact vas very embarssed a couple of time.

 

teacher are paid emplyees (no matter the union's thoughts) and need to be held accountable. EVERYONE has a boss -- work you vay up the chain as need be

:iagree:

[itsrks]

When my daughter attended 6th grade at a school, she almost never had recess for the entire year. Everyday somebody did something and the whole class got punished. This was not in the US so I'm surprised to hear of no recess being a punishment here now too. My daughter was frustrated so often that year.

[Cera]

At least your kids have the potential for recess every day. Mine get one 15 minute recess a day except on days they have gym (which is in place of recess). If the weather is bad and they can't go outside recess is cancelled.

 

This is for every grade from K on (needless to say we are moving to a new district).

[momma aimee]

At least your kids have the potential for recess every day. Mine get one 15 minute recess a day except on days they have gym (which is in place of recess). If the weather is bad and they can't go outside recess is cancelled.

 

This is for every grade from K on (needless to say we are moving to a new district).

 

in situations like this -- why doesn't the PTA rise up and demand change? go to the School Board meeting and so on?