What Has Happened to RECESS?

[tex-mex]

Recently, after a 13 year gap of not teaching in the public schools, I returned back to the classroom.  Only to discover a LOT has changed.  And not for the better thanks to NCLB (No Child Left Behind).  I knew schools were in a panic trying to prove they were teaching to the almighty standardized test.  But I was not prepared to discover many schools have done away with recess.  There was one K-12 Charter School (i.e. At-Will & Non-Union) where I experienced no personal breaks, no lunch breaks, and no money to hire extra p/t staff to do yard duty or monitor lunch.  I was stuck from 7:45am to 3:45pm with the students all day.  If I had to go to the bathroom... I was flat out of luck. 

 

Now recently, with a few interviews with local school districts, it appears they do have "recess" thanks to Teacher Unions giving them a 20 minute break and an additional 30 minute lunch period wrapped into one time period. The students still have to sit through a LONG period of time (IMO) of academics with the teacher having to list the Common Core/TEKS on the whiteboard... which is time consuming and ridiculous, but that is another thread.  And some schools still have Specials (the other state I taught in 13 years ago cut those out thanks to Prop. 13) with another daily 50 minute "prep" period.  Which is nicer compared to the Charter School I experienced... but still left me saddened to realize the lower K-3 Elementary still had no recess before school. 

 

I was surprised to find out that many schools cut out before school recess and expect the student to wait (quietly) in the cafeteria or indoor gym reading quietly during the 15-20 minutes before school began.  I experienced this disasterously with the aforementioned Charter School and it was plainly obvious to me that those kiddos needed physical or outdoor activity before school began.  Some even more from an ADHD POV. 

 

Today, I listened to a radio show that said my experiences thus far... and I wonder how common is this practice of taking away or limiting recess? 

http://whyy.org/cms/radiotimes/2013/01/07/whats-happened-to-recess-and-why-its-good-for-kids/

 

Kids today do not know how to play anymore. 

 

I understand the Stranger Danger issue since the late 1990's and sadly, no one in my neighborhood plays outdoors anymore. 

 

Many kids today have their days highly structured or micromanaged with after-school clubs, classes or events.  I get that.  One day, the kids in my class were so excited to see me bring out old (from the 1980's and from my garage) bases and kickball.  I split up the kids into teams and let 'em have some fun.  Only to realize many of them had no clue how to PLAY Kickball.  I stopped the game and explained in detail the rules... and then let them have fun.  I think personally, my past 13 years being a stay-at-home mom and homeschooler has RUINED me for returning back to the classroom.  Or maybe it is the Texan in me that bristles to be told what to do by the Govt. :lol:

 

I was so disheartened and depressed to see the current status of education... and I live in a $$ upper-income rich suburb.  I cannot even imagine what education is like in the inner cities or rural areas.  Wow.  I am truly considering changing careers.  Not sure I am able to handle teaching with this restrictive what-to-teach or such in public or charter schools.  Terrified if private schools are worse too.

[Jan in SC]

I have never heard of before school recess. It did not exist when I was in school and I asked my hd and he has never heard of it either. When my dc were in ps, they had a thirty minute recess every day after lunch. They had lots of climbing structures and a nice sized field. When my oldest went to private school, he had recess everyday for about 45 minutes. They could run and climb, but they also had an area to play with water. They could build dams and run boats. It was a great recess area. That school had PE everyday for students younger than elementary. Maybe playing outside is a regional issue.

[tex-mex]

Maybe I am revealing my age... LOL! :laugh:

 

Back in CA when I taught in the 80's and 90's, we had our school schedule like the following:

 

7:45-8:05  Before School Recess (Monitored by Yard Duty Staff)

8:10 School Begins

10:10-10:20 Snack Recess

12:15-12:55  Lunch & Recess

2:05-2:15 Afternoon Recess

3:30  Dismissal

 

 

[MinivanMom]

I think this is a regional issue.  When I was an elementary student in the 80's in CA we had before school recess, a 20-min morning recess, and a full hour for lunch & recess (the quicker you eat - the more time to play).  If the weather was nice then your teacher would take you back out in the afternoon to play baseball, basketball, or dodge ball.  Kindergartners only had 2 1/2 hours of school, but they still managed to have 15 min of snack time and 20 min of recess.  Even in Junior High we got a full hour for lunch (in addition to an hour of P.E.).  Boys would scarf down their lunch and spend the rest of the hour out on the field playing pick-up games.

 

I started teaching in the West in the late 90's and recess was exactly the same.  When I moved to the deep South in 2001, I was in for a huge shock.  Students in K-2 got just one 20 min recess.  Students in 3-6 were out of luck.  The poor kids didn't even get a break at lunch.  They ate in silence for 20 min then went directly back to class.  When students were dropped off at school, they were not allowed to play on the playground or run around on the fields.  They had to go directly to the gym where they sat in rows by grade level in complete silence.  I had never seen 300 students sit so silently before.  The attitude was that kids needed to work hard.  Recess was a waste of time for the lazy.  There was a strong regional attitude there that I had never encountered before.

 

I have gradually seen other areas going the way of the South, and I think it's very sad.

[ThatHomeschoolDad]

I was so disheartened and depressed to see the current status of education... and I live in a $$ upper-income rich suburb.  I cannot even imagine what education is like in the inner cities or rural areas.  Wow.  I am truly considering changing careers.  Not sure I am able to handle teaching with this restrictive what-to-teach or such in public or charter schools.  Terrified if private schools are worse too.

 

DW is in year 26 and hoping to make it to retirement.  You're right, it's nuts and getting worse.  With the new PARCC paperwork, she just had to do over 60 two-page evals for her classes -- had to deliver it to the office in a box.

 

I can only say the private schools do not seem to be hampered by the testing craze, but perhaps the trade-off is wealthy, self-absorbed parents and snooty kids.  Then again, I'm in a high COL area in which private school runs about $30K a year.  I've also worked with a few brilliant private school kids.

[Heather in Neverland]

I work in a private christian school. We do not have an organized before school recess but our students generally show up 20 minutes before school and play on the playground until school starts. We also have an hour for lunch and recess and another afternoon recess.

 

My teachers get a minimum of a 40 minute lunch, 15 minute afternoon break, and 80 minutes of prep every day.

[Ottakee]

We live in a small town school district in Western Michigan. I live 2 door down from a K-4th grade school. The kids get before school recess, a morning recess, noon recess, and afternoon recess. I think the am and pm are 15 minutes each and the noon is 20 minutes after eating but not totally sure.

 

I am all for MORE recess time. In my K-8 rural school our schedule was:

9:05 school starts

10:30-10:50 recess

12:15-12:25 lunch at your desk

12:25-1:00 recess

2-2:15 recess

3:20 dismissal

 

We had almost no homework and still managed to get a good education. We also had recess with K-8 ALL together except in the winter the 1st recess the K-2 got to play in the gym, at noon the 6-8 got the gym and 3-5 got it for the last recess (that was a huge deal to be able to play in the gym). We also had NO playground monitor/teacher, etc. We just all ran around on our own and somehow managed to get along together and avoid most injuries.

[JumpyTheFrog]

My elementary school in the 80s left recess up to the teachers. I remember going out to the playground perhaps weekly (not in the 5 months of winter) in second grade and less than that in third grade. I don't remember about fourth grade but I guess we went out occasionally. My fifth grade teacher would take her students out once per year. Specials (library, gym, art, music) rotated and were for 30 minutes per day. Lunch was 30 minutes as well. Other than these occasional trips outside to the playground, there was no recess. (School for grades 1-5 was from 9:20-3:15. Kindergarten was half day. I went from about 12:30-3:15.)

[bolt.]

My kids' school (I'm only afterschooling, not a "real" homeschooler) has plenty of recess and outdoor PE.

 

Before school isn't really a "recess" it's just the time after buses arrive, but before the school officially starts. It is supervised. There is morning recess, lunch hour with recess, and often afternoon PE is outdoors in nice weather. Afternoon PE is more likely to be in the gym as weather gets blustery, but for Sept/Oct teachers seem to revel in the chance to get their classes outside. They even sometimes do outdoor teaching.

 

However, I do think they suffer a bit for lack of breaks. At least 3 teachers -- possibly 5 or 6 -- are on supervision duty for all those times. There is a fair rotation, but I'm sure it's not a very nice day of the week when your whole lunch hour disappears. Recess duty might be less of a burden, time-wise, but I sure would need the potty break! Teachers are responsible for their own PE, whether outdoors or indoors. Maybe they group-up and trade off.

[Arcadia]

Back in CA when I taught in the 80's and 90's, we had our school schedule like the following:

 

7:45-8:05 Before School Recess (Monitored by Yard Duty Staff)

8:10 School Begins

10:10-10:20 Snack Recess

12:15-12:55 Lunch & Recess

2:05-2:15 Afternoon Recess

3:30 Dismissal

In California, different schools have different schedules too. Our nearby public school schedule

 

7:30 school bus arrive at school.

7:30-8:15 Kids on free/reduced breakfast goes to cafeteria. Other kids stand outside their classrooms and chat. No yard duty staff.

8:15 School Begins

10:10-10:25 Recess. Parent volunteers for yard duty

12:15-12:35 Lunch. Parent volunteers for yard duty.

2:15 Dismissal

 

The public school 1 mile away starts at 8:30am and dismiss at 2:30pm

[T'smom]

I once worked at a charter school that had a huge poster in the office with what times each grade had recess. It was a total lie. We were not allowed to take them out for recess unless they had done well on a test or as a reward. And we would be questioned if we took our kids out to the playground. There were a few of us that tried to find ways to incorporate being outside into a lesson, but obviously that wasn't much of a solution. That was only the tip of the iceberg of problems in that school. It was a bad school and I know that most are not that way, but it does give me pause after watching administrators flat out lie to parents. How would I know if someone was lying to me?

 

I ended up quitting during the year. And I wasn't the only one. The vast majority of the teachers were single or their significant others did not have jobs. I was lucky that I wasn't dependant on the job. I quit and decided it was time t have my own kids!

[lea_lpz]

Maybe I am revealing my age... LOL! :laugh:

 

Back in CA when I taught in the 80's and 90's, we had our school schedule like the following:

 

7:45-8:05 Before School Recess (Monitored by Yard Duty Staff)

8:10 School Begins

10:10-10:20 Snack Recess

12:15-12:55 Lunch & Recess

2:05-2:15 Afternoon Recess

3:30 Dismissal

Was in elemantry school in mid-80's through '90's and this was our basic schedule for school. I think the morning recess was actually longer, maybe 20 minutes.

 

We had an elective every day, too, in 1-6. PE 2x, art 1x, music 1x and computer 1x a week. We still did art and sang in class. This was a special period with the art or music teacher.

 

I think we even got out of school at 2:30 until we were in 4th grade, lol.

 

This was at Catholiv school.

[Kathryn]

I was in elementary school in the South in the 1980s. School started around 7:30. When you got there, you went straight to your classroom. The only recess was 20 minutes after lunch. There was no snack either (besides kindergarten, but then there wasn't lunch since it was only half-day).

[sassenach]

Maybe I am revealing my age... LOL! :laugh:

 

Back in CA when I taught in the 80's and 90's, we had our school schedule like the following:

 

7:45-8:05 Before School Recess (Monitored by Yard Duty Staff)

8:10 School Begins

10:10-10:20 Snack Recess

12:15-12:55 Lunch & Recess

2:05-2:15 Afternoon Recess

3:30 Dismissal

I was in elementary school in the 80s-90s in CA and this schedule is exactly what I remember.

 

 

ETA- I just looked up our local school's schedule and this is it:

 

8:05am Teachers open classrooms to greet students 

8:14am Instruction begins 

10:05am to 10:25am Snack Recess 

 

 Lunch 12:05pm to 12:30pm Grades 1 and 2 to playground 

12:30pm -12:50pm Grades 1 and 2 eat lunch 

 

12:05pm to 12:20pm Grades 3, 4 and 5 eat lunch 

12:20pm to 12:50pm Grades 3, 4 and 5 to playground 

 

1:35pm to 1:50pm Grades 1, 2, 3 Afternoon Recess 

 

2:35pm Dismissal 

 

 

My kids are so funny.  They were shocked when they learned how short recesses are.  They thought that recess was just like park day- 3 hours of exploration.  My dd said something about how school kids get recess everyday and I replied with it only being 15-20 minutes.  DS was totally gobsmacked and exclaimed, "What's the point in that?!"

[kitten18]

 

My kids are so funny. They were shocked when they learned how short recesses are. They thought that recess was just like park day- 3 hours of exploration. My dd said something about how school kids get recess everyday and I replied with it only being 15-20 minutes. DS was totally gobsmacked and exclaimed, "What's the point in that?!"

That is hysterical! I'm sure my kids think the same thing.

[Sisyphus]

Oldest Ds went to school for 2nd grade, it was in the south. Silent lunch, and they had a ten minute recess at the end of the day...but that normally taken for some infraction (gotta love group punishments) so it averaged out to once a week. Once a week 10 minutes of recess, no lie. They did have gym twice a week, but it was run like a boot camp so not really the same as free play like recess would be.

 

That, and the 7 practice standardized test, plus the real one, during the year made that our only foray into institutional school. I'd rather my kid be a moron than go through that.

 

I grew up in the heady 70s and 80s, where we got 3 recesses, and gifted education was not just a packet of extra work but bussing to a separate school 5 days a week for half the day. We had naps in kindergarten, which was only half day as it was, and we did standardized testing once a year and never had any prep, high pressure assemblies, and had no idea what was even for. Somehow, I turned out pretty durn smart despite the lax testing and excessive recess. Shocker.

[Ruby Rose]

My dd went to PS in K. Per the district, they were not allowed to go outside. They had a yard full of playground equipment that wasn't allowed to be used...IN K5! The principal worked around this with "Fun Fridays" allowing a 20-30 minute outside recess. Ridiculous!

[joannqn]

I think this is a regional issue.  When I was an elementary student in the 80's in CA we had before school recess, a 20-min morning recess, and a full hour for lunch & recess (the quicker you eat - the more time to play).  If the weather was nice then your teacher would take you back out in the afternoon to play baseball, basketball, or dodge ball.  Kindergartners only had 2 1/2 hours of school, but they still managed to have 15 min of snack time and 20 min of recess.  Even in Junior High we got a full hour for lunch (in addition to an hour of P.E.).  Boys would scarf down their lunch and spend the rest of the hour out on the field playing pick-up games.

 

I grew up in CA in the 80s as well.  This is how I remember school.  We all arrived early to play before school.  Then we had a morning recess.  Lunch was an hour long and supervised by parents (my mom was one of them).  Finally, we had PE every day.  If it was rainy or if there was an air quality advisory, we had recess and PE indoors playing Silent Ball or Heads up Seven Up or some such game.

 

ETA: We also have art and music frequently...all subjects taught by the same teacher.

[Laura Corin]

My boys' school has kept playtime - half an hour in the middle of the morning and an hour at lunchtime (including time to eat).  The junior school (up to age 12) also has a lot of organised exercise each week: two double periods of outdoor games (rugby, field hockey, football, rounders, cricket, tennis, athletics) and one single period of indoor PE/swimming.  I think they have a good idea that their lives are much easier if the children are physically tired.

 

At Calvin's age there is no longer compulsory PE/Games.  I wish there was as he gets very little exercise.  He works in the garden for us (lawn mowing; shovelling mulch) and sometimes walks the dog, but it's not enough.

 

L

[lovinmomma]

I have been disheartended by this, too. My kids get one 20 minute recess per day. No before school or any other time. This is especially rough on my ADHD son, because any time he gets in trouble (they call it thinking time) it's taken out of his recess in 5 minute increments for anything from slouching in his seat to talking when not supposed to or forgetting homework. Due to his ADHD (and just sheer forgetfullness- he gets that from his Momma ;) ) he often ends up with 15 mins gone from his recess and being spent in "thinking time". It's sheer torture for him. He HATES to get thinking time, so I suppose the disciplinary idea is working, but he's 7...7.... he needs play time. In our household the kids spend a large amount of time outdoors after school. That's the only thing I can do to compensate.

 

ETA: I should also include that my kids' school still gets specials. Phew! At least the still have that. :)

[abba12]

Goodness me... some of these timetables are crazy! Kids starting school at 8:00 and ending at 3:30? Standing in front of classrooms for 45mins in the morning? 20 minute recess only? Busses which arrive at 7:30? I can't even imagine these things. In fact, I dislike our school system, but comparing timetables makes me realize how lucky we are in my country! Maybe our kids haven't got it so bad after all!

 

I am from Australia, so obviously things are different here.  The basic schedule for primary schools (G1-7) in our area looks like this, or at least, did the last time I had the opportunity to compare, which was about 5 years ago, and I've not heard about any changes since.

 

(most schools are 10 or 20 minutes to one side or the other, so that busses are staggered. All our busses are public and most busses take kids from multiple schools due to the nature of our spread of population and not being restricted to attending the 'local' school)

 

Any children who arrive prior to 8:40 have to sit supervised in one of the 'eating areas' (we don't have indoor cafeterias here, we have outdoor covered areas and kids sit on the ground or on one of the benches, no tables. These are usually kids who's parents drop them off early, or long distance bused kids)

8:40: Kids can go play and the majority of students begin to arrive after this time.

9:00: Class begins, Usually English/Reading, math, foreign language, etc

11:00: 'Little Lunch' (Morning tea, usually a 5 minute snack then playtime)

11:20: Resume Class, usually history/science, foreign language or art. Math often finds it's way here too if it wasn't covered that morning

1:00: 'Big Lunch' (Lunchtime, children must sit, supervised, for 15 minutes, then are released to play)

1:50 Resume Class (final, 'short' session is often reserved for things like assembly, PE, Music, Chior, 'Study Hall' style time, Working on projects, Read aloud time, class presentations, silent reading, tutoring, and other, less formal work. This isn't always true, but teachers very rarely use this time to introduce fresh material of an academic nature. most kids consider 'school' to be done before Big Lunch and are able to begin unwinding during big lunch playtime.)

3:00: End of Day

 

Yep, definitely realizing how good our schools have got it in this regard, focusing work during peak learning times and plenty of play/rest. Even our high schoolers get a morning tea and a decent lunch break

[Melissa in Australia]

I am in Australia as well. I am actually working in a primary school for the next 3 weeks.

 their timetable is as follows:

 

teacher supervision of children in playground from 8.30 (school busses arrive from country locations from this time onwards)

 9.00 school starts

10.00 fruit time. fruit is brought to the classroom, students stop what they are doing and eat the fruit.  this takes 5 minutes.

11.00 -11.30 recess

1.20-1.30 eat lunch in classroom

1.30- 2.10 lunch break teacher supervise on roster basis

3.30 school finishes

 

[kiwik]

Maybe I am revealing my age... LOL! :laugh:

 

Back in CA when I taught in the 80's and 90's, we had our school schedule like the following:

 

7:45-8:05 Before School Recess (Monitored by Yard Duty Staff)

8:10 School Begins

10:10-10:20 Snack Recess

12:15-12:55 Lunch & Recess

2:05-2:15 Afternoon Recess

3:30 Dismissal

That is an awfully long day. Here it is:

8.20 the earliest you are allowed to arrive at school. No official supervision but there are teachers around preparing for the day.

9 school starts

10.30 -10.50 break

10.50 -12.30 lunch (outside unless raining, kids required to sit and eat for 20 mins then free play.

1.30 afternoon school

3 dismissal

 

There are minor variations but it is pretty much like this throughout the entire country (NZ).

 

Because we don't have specialist teachers in Y1 to Y6 (or 8 depending on school) the actual arrangement of the day is varied - teachers are pretty much free to take them outside any time. They do swimming four days a week in summer, lots of outside games (tag etc) in the younger years and more organised stuff when they are older. They also often take them outside to do maths and language games.

 

The government has just approved some charter schools as a trial. They have permission to choose their own hours so we will see if they try and change the status quo.

[Wabi Sabi]

I'm in the midwest and have never heard of before-school playtime/recess. The concept of arriving to school more than 5 minutes before the beginning of classes is totally foreign to me. When I rode the bus we sometimes got there 5-10 minutes early, but all the buses would line up, and we'd wait on the bus for just a few minutes before being unloaded.

[Amy in NH]

I have been disheartended by this, too. My kids get one 20 minute recess per day. No before school or any other time. This is especially rough on my ADHD son, because any time he gets in trouble (they call it thinking time) it's taken out of his recess in 5 minute increments for anything from slouching in his seat to talking when not supposed to or forgetting homework. Due to his ADHD (and just sheer forgetfullness- he gets that from his Momma ;) ) he often ends up with 15 mins gone from his recess and being spent in "thinking time". It's sheer torture for him. He HATES to get thinking time, so I suppose the disciplinary idea is working, but he's 7...7.... he needs play time. In our household the kids spend a large amount of time outdoors after school. That's the only thing I can do to compensate.

 

ETA: I should also include that my kids' school still gets specials. Phew! At least the still have that. :)

 

You need to get his IEP changed.  Due to his diagnosed "disability" he should really get extra time to move around, not less.  They should not be able to take away movement time as punishment.  And specific infractions like slouching in a chair should be spelled out in the IEP as being a non-punishable offense.

[school17777]

Our school district still has recess.  In fact, I send my K student to school for recess 3x during the 6 day cycle (6 days in a cycle instead of MTWRF) so she can have that experience and be around other kids her age.  I think all the elementary grades have recess (through 6th grade).  Then in middle school and high school, they have gym class.  My 11th grader still has a gym class.

 

When my kids were in virtual charter school, we could not count "recess" towards their attendance time.  We could count it if it was structured, supervised, and they were learning a new skill, but then that really wasn't a recess.

[SadieMarie]

When my kids went to school they had teachers outside before school to make sure the kids stood in orderly lines. The playground was right there, while they stood quietly in line. When I was a kid we were all over the playground before that first bell rang. The kids in k-2 did get a mid-morning recess though, and lunch, and mid-afternoon for kindergarten. I am betting the charter schools feel just as much, or even more, pressure to get good test scores so I am not surprised there are no breaks. I assume that good test scores will lead to more charters. Who gives a youknowwhat about the kids when better test scores will mean more schools and so profit? They can also try to avoid taking or boot kids who can't keep it together for that kind of structure.

[Dmmetler]

Search for "recess" on www.susanohanian.org if you want to feel nauseated.

 

Susan wrote a book on exactly this back in the early years of NCLB, and her website tracks exactly this sort of thing from schools around the US (plus some from other countries). It's actually gotten better-the "obesity epidemic" has pushed recess and PE back where it was being removed.

[Jean in Newcastle]

In fact, I dislike our school system, but comparing timetables makes me realize how lucky we are in my country! Maybe our kids haven't got it so bad after all!

 

But to be fair, you have to realize that it is only certain schools or certain school districts in the US who have draconian no recess practices.  

[Parrothead]

Thinking back to when I was a kid in the 70s, I had recess at least once a day. I went to a lot of different school in many states. Seems wherever I was the students got at least before school time to run around or work on homework (depending on age/grade) then recess after lunch each afternoon. Even high school in the early 80s was much of the same. We wouldn't have called it recess at that age though.

[joannqn]

When we lived in Tacoma, the school district experimented with eliminating school bells.  They said that it was too disruptive to the teacher to have lessons interrupted by the school bell and too hard to pick up mid lesson after recess.  During the couple of years that they had no school bells, the teachers could take the kids out for recess if and when they had time, though lunch was still scheduled.  My daughter's friend said they got one fifteen minute break in the afternoon.  When driving by, we often saw the kids getting their recess during the last few minutes of the school day.  After a couple of years, they realized that it was a bad idea and put scheduled recesses back in.

[KungFuPanda]

I've never seen a before-school recess either. Back in the 80s, you went to breakfast or the classroom once you got to school. You could chat with friends, but nobody was running around on the playground. We did get a 15 minute recess in the morning and afternoon and 30 at lunch. Even the middle schools kept the lunchtime recess.

 

I live in a different state, but the local elementary school definitely has kids outside regularly for free play. Kids play outside in the neighborhood too.

[Library Momma]

Boy these posts make me realize how completely different things are around the country.

 

Here the K-2 school has:

 

Morning recess for 10 min

20 min lunch/40 min recess mid day

10 minute afternoon recess.

 

Once a week they have gym as one of their specials for 40 min either in the gym or outside depending on the weather activity.

 

the 3-5 school has:

 

a morning 10 min snack break 

45 min lunch/recess.  After the first 15 minutes students can decide whether they want to stay at lunch for another 15 minutes and have a 15 minute recess or go out and have a 1/2 hour recess.

afternoon 10 minute break where most teachers take the kids outside to play or for a walk.

 

Once a week they also have a 40 gym class.

 

I have never heard of any before school playtime.  Here too kids have a 15 minute window to get in the building for both busses to drop off and/or parents.  We have no walkers.That'snot possible in our area.

 

[Mandylubug]

The PS we loved in AZ had before school recess, midmorning recess, lunch recess and after school recess right before pickup. My kids THRIVED there. Very lovely school.

[SKL]

We never had before-school recess.  Kids were allowed to play in the parking lot (that was where we had recess) if they got there before the first bell.  Of course in those days, there were very few kids being driven by car to school.  You either walked or rode the bus.  The buses unloaded from the street in front of the school.

 

My kids (second-graders) do have recess during the day, probably mid-morning and mid-afternoon, as well as time to play outside during aftercare.  As they get older this will decrease.  I think they get more recess than the public schools give.  Our school is old-fashioned in a good way.

 

Because I know they won't get much activity during the school year (especially in winter), I sign my kids up for after-school gym stuff.  Looking forward to their being able to play sports at school.

[Firefly]

Growing up in the 70s and 80s in CT and RI, we had recess in the morning while waiting for buses/walkers/parent drop-offs.  It wasn't called "recess", it was just what the procedure was.  If it was rainy we all gathered in the gym and there was free play.  Younger grades got a snack time but all grades got recess after lunch for half an hour to 45 minutes.  Gym was required too, but I can't remember if we had it every day or not.  It was the same for my kids during the first two years before we started homeschooling, so fortunately I don't think much has changed around here.

 

 

[MinivanMom]

I grew up in CA in the 80s as well.  This is how I remember school.  We all arrived early to play before school.  Then we had a morning recess.  Lunch was an hour long and supervised by parents (my mom was one of them).  Finally, we had PE every day.  If it was rainy or if there was an air quality advisory, we had recess and PE indoors playing Silent Ball or Heads up Seven Up or some such game.

 

ETA: We also have art and music frequently...all subjects taught by the same teacher.

 

I had just one teacher also (CA in the 80's).  There were no specials, no extra teachers, no rotation.  In 4th and 5th grade we started instrumental instruction, but the band teacher came to our classroom.  We must have saved tons of time by not moving all over the school all day long.  Not only did we have up to 2 hrs of recess, but we always had huge history & science projects going on, we had daily art and music, and we usually performed a class play in the fall and the spring so a lot of time was spent rehearsing.

 

What on earth are they doing all day long in schools with no recess?  Seriously, you can only have so much reading or math instruction before the kids get burned out and the instruction becomes counterproductive.  What are they accomplishing by skipping recess?

[QueenCat]

You need to get his IEP changed.  Due to his diagnosed "disability" he should really get extra time to move around, not less.  They should not be able to take away movement time as punishment.  And specific infractions like slouching in a chair should be spelled out in the IEP as being a non-punishable offense.

 

:iagree: When ds was in ps, his IEP clearly stated that recess could not be taken away as punishment or to finish work not completed in class. At one point, he actually had an extra movement time, where an aide came and got him from class, and took him for a 10 minute walk.

[QueenCat]

Schools are different in so many different places within the U.S. I went to elementary school in MD in the early to mid 1970s. We did not have before school recess but usually had two 15 minute recesses during the day. We switched teachers for reading and math starting in 2nd grade.  We had "specials" (music, art, p.e.) with teachers who were not our regular academic teachers. We went to one "specials" every day, except one day we'd go the media center instead. School day was 9am-3:30pm (6.5 hours). My kids elementary school, in GA, in the 1990s (pre-homeschooling for us) was very similar except they didn't split off for english and math until 4th grade. They had computers as a special, in addition to the ones I had. They had recess twice a day. Kids around here, in TN, are on the playgrounds almost every time I drive by them during the school day. School day was 7:45am-2:30pm (6.75 hours).

[LucyStoner]

When I was in 3rd grade in the 1980s, I went to a public school that had no recess in Florida. So there have been recess-less schools for a long time. In Washington where I was before and after that, there was always plenty of recess. I recall AM and PM recesses of 15-20 minutes each with 45 minutes for lunch and recess in the middle of the day. In 5th grade they dropped PM recess. Now it is more compressed time wise but all of the schools here still do have recess.

[2squared]

My kids are in a small parochial school in a very small town in Minnesota. 

 

They have before school recess officially for 20 minutes, but the kids like to arrive earlier than the official start time so they have more before school recess.

 

K-4th have a 10 minute morning recess.  My Ker has rest time after lunch.  My Ker and 1st grader have afternoon free time at centers.

 

Everyone has 50 min for lunch and recess.  

 

Recess is K-8th, and the kids play like crazy.  All ages and grades mix; it's a family atmosphere.

 

I love our school. 

[SKL]

They do take away recess here for punishments and unfinished work.  I complained about it, but nobody cared.  Oh well.

[eloquacious]

I think this is a regional issue. When I was an elementary student in the 80's in CA we had before school recess, a 20-min morning recess, and a full hour for lunch & recess (the quicker you eat - the more time to play). If the weather was nice then your teacher would take you back out in the afternoon to play baseball, basketball, or dodge ball. Kindergartners only had 2 1/2 hours of school, but they still managed to have 15 min of snack time and 20 min of recess. Even in Junior High we got a full hour for lunch (in addition to an hour of P.E.). Boys would scarf down their lunch and spend the rest of the hour out on the field playing pick-up games.

 

I started teaching in the West in the late 90's and recess was exactly the same. When I moved to the deep South in 2001, I was in for a huge shock. Students in K-2 got just one 20 min recess. Students in 3-6 were out of luck. The poor kids didn't even get a break at lunch. They ate in silence for 20 min then went directly back to class. When students were dropped off at school, they were not allowed to play on the playground or run around on the fields. They had to go directly to the gym where they sat in rows by grade level in complete silence. I had never seen 300 students sit so silently before. The attitude was that kids needed to work hard. Recess was a waste of time for the lazy. There was a strong regional attitude there that I had never encountered before.

 

I have gradually seen other areas going the way of the South, and I think it's very sad.

Exactly this! I lived I California from 2nd through most of 5th grade. We had multiple outdoors periods/recesses per day, and I think we had P.E. every day. When we moved to Rhode Island at the tail end of 5th grade, that changed to one 20 minute recess a day, as part of lunch. If lunch took too long, it was shortened. If someone in the class had frustrated the teacher, it was canceled. Moreover, I took a school bus rather than ride my bicycle over a mile each way. Between all these factors, I gained 15 lbs during the next year or so, without gaining any height.

[eloquacious]

Incidentally, I did 1st and part of 2nd in Germany, then 10th-13th in Germany again. I was pleasantly surprised when I moved back after one year of American jail (ahem, high school) to discover that older students got "recess" there, as well. We had at least two 20-minute breaks each day, and more if we had a free period. No lock-down silent "study hall" there! It was glorious.

[AimeeM]

If it's any consolation, in my experience, private schools are NOT as bad in this regard.

 

My dd's current private school has TWO generous recess periods and a lunch period, for the entire school (grades approx 2-8). It's a school for bright/gifted dyslexic children - many of whom are also ADD/ADHD.

 

Previously (and before homeschooling), she attended a private Catholic school and they too had a recess period (though only one) and lunch (i.e. the children didn't have to choose between eating healthfully and playing).

 

ETA: At her current private school, the children are also allowed to play before the formal school day begins. Another thing I appreciate - there is no "play equipment"... it's open-ended. There are balls and things to play WITH, but otherwise, just open yard. No idle sitting on a swing or sliding a million times down a slide; they play Capture the Flag, kick ball, soccer, etc.

[lovinmomma]

You need to get his IEP changed.  Due to his diagnosed "disability" he should really get extra time to move around, not less.  They should not be able to take away movement time as punishment.  And specific infractions like slouching in a chair should be spelled out in the IEP as being a non-punishable offense.

It's not diagnosed. I have ADHD myself. It's a HUGE struggle especially in college level classes. However, up until this year we have not medicated (still haven't, but it's more of a possibility) due to his last 2 teachers being phenominal. Absolutely phenominal. I can't say enough positive about them. The structure that they provided in the classroom made it so that he was able to, for the most part, function behaviorally in the classroom without meds. We have really tried our best not to have to medicate for a couple of reasons. One of the main reasons being that he's very athletically inclined and I worry that I will stunt his growth if I put him on meds.

 

Having said all of that, this is the first year that I have seen him really not LIKE his teacher. He feels picked on by the teacher. Breaks my heart because he's a sweet kid. So, we're now considering all of our options.

[lovinmomma]

They do take away recess here for punishments and unfinished work.  I complained about it, but nobody cared.  Oh well.

 

It's unfortunate, isn't it?

[lovinmomma]

:iagree: When ds was in ps, his IEP clearly stated that recess could not be taken away as punishment or to finish work not completed in class. At one point, he actually had an extra movement time, where an aide came and got him from class, and took him for a 10 minute walk.

 

Wow! Something to look into. Thanks!

[lovinmomma]

I had just one teacher also (CA in the 80's).  There were no specials, no extra teachers, no rotation.  In 4th and 5th grade we started instrumental instruction, but the band teacher came to our classroom.  We must have saved tons of time by not moving all over the school all day long.  Not only did we have up to 2 hrs of recess, but we always had huge history & science projects going on, we had daily art and music, and we usually performed a class play in the fall and the spring so a lot of time was spent rehearsing.

 

What on earth are they doing all day long in schools with no recess?  Seriously, you can only have so much reading or math instruction before the kids get burned out and the instruction becomes counterproductive.  What are they accomplishing by skipping recess?

 

At times, I have no idea. However, I think that they are trying to accommodate a variety of learning styles. So, the same material is being taught multiple times per day in different formats???

[AimeeM]

At times, I have no idea. However, I think that they are trying to accommodate a variety of learning styles. So, the same material is being taught multiple times per day in different formats???

 

This would be my guess, as well. I know that some of our gen ed teachers (in the local publics) now have a very large percentage in their class of children who were formerly in a special needs/resource class full time (budget cuts - yay!).

 

I wonder about these things myself. Considering specials around here are being seem to be either on the chopping block, potentially on the chopping block, or moved to "after school interscholastic activities", history is virtually non-existent (I think my dd had several years of state history in elementary) and certainly not daily, science is maybe once or twice a week, PE once a week... why on Earth haven't they time for adequate lunch (15 minutes, maybe, by the time they get through the line) and recess in the schools?

 

Given, my dd's school has far less students than a public school class, but they are somehow able to fit in maths, science, history/social studies, literature/language arts, one-on-one OG tutoring, their "special" (woodshop for the upper school this semester; art for the lower school, and they switch "special" after Christmas), 2 recesses, and a lunch into EVERY day. School runs from 8:15 - 3:15 monday - thursday, half day (until 12:30) on Fridays.