You know, for a bunch of research crazed educators, we certainly are pickers and choosers.  Well, I suppose everyone is, choosing the research results that best supports your point of view or idea of how things are or should be.  And we’re really good at ignoring some research if it goes against the results we think we want or maybe it’s because the research results sound too good to be true.  I think that’s what has happened in terms of any research concerning recess.

Way back in the old days, when I was a kid, recess felt like it lasted forever.  Well, maybe not long enough, but compared to what kids get today, it was forever.  You had time to play multiple games, ride the swings, slide down the slide and get your arm broken playing “Red Rover”.  I was always the one they went for first because I was a weeny and couldn’t hold on.  Anyway, the point being, we had a lot of time allotted for just playing and being kids.  And somehow, even with that amount of time “wasted” at recess, we made it through school, most of my friends going on to earn college degrees.

Today I did recess duty again and when I blew the whistle to line up, one little girl started crying saying, “I just got out here and finished my lap and we have to go in already?!?”  I felt bad.  They have a half hour to eat their lunch which includes 10 minutes of recess.  They’re first graders so it takes a couple of minutes to get them out to the playground.  After running (or walking) their lap, they maybe have 8 minutes to actually play, and that’s IF they threw down their lunch in 20 minutes.  But you know how it is.  Because schools and teachers are expected to be accountable for the amount and rigor of learning that takes place during the day, we can’t spend a minute of it on something wasteful like playing.  Let’s take five year olds and begin academics the first day, forget about giving them time to get to learn each others names and how to play with them.

Ok, I’m on my soapbox again, but anytime someone says we don’t have time for recess, I think, ok, sure.  So the idea that kids who get at least 20 minutes of recess daily are less fidgety and more on task, have improved memory and focused attention, develop more brain connections, learn negotiation skills, yada, yada, yada must mean nothing.  The only things that matters are test scores and accountability.

I often wonder what it would hurt to just try an experiment.  Just insert 20 minutes of uninterrupted recess into each school day and just see what happens.  According to research, we should see a difference in engagement, focus AND achievement.  Just like any teacher who has sat through a two hour, non-stop professional development, we know our brain begins to wander without a break.  And because we need a break, we stop trying to focus on the learning at hand.  This is when teachers begin checking their email or Facebook, whispering to their neighbor or passing notes about the presenter.  Fess up – we’ve all been there.  Now imagine you’re an 8 year old who has been sitting in a chair most of the day not being allowed to talk.  That would make a teacher crazy, so why are we doing it to children?

On occasion, I have to ask the kids who is in charge and they point to me and say “you are!”, but really I’m not.  The teachers, the ones who really understand the needs of these children and know the best ways to keep them engaged, focused and enjoying what and how they learn, have very little control when it comes to doing what they know is good for the children.  It makes me wonder what school/class structure was like for my teachers in elementary school.  Has it always been like this?

I realize I live in music specialist land where yes, I have essential learning outcomes and curriculum resources, but I get to decide the pacing, how the content is addressed and when they need a break to play.  But I will guarantee you that despite the fact that I only see them every five days, my kids are learning and retaining.  Play makes such a difference and all I can ask now is, where have all the recesses gone and what are we going to do about it?