1. For Young Children, Play at School is as Important as Work
Pubished:
http://thechicagoschoolreviews.com/for­young­children­play­at­school­is­as­important­as­work/
Education has seen a resurgence of factual overload and English and math drills, even for
young children. As the charter movement takes the United States by storm, many young
people, some as young as 6 or 7 years old, are finding themselves stuck inside of a classroom
all day, with infrequent opportunities for play at recess or team building time.
This is especially the case in urban education. Educators are concerned with “closing the
achievement gap” and “catching up” students who are behind their peers who have historically
had more access to quality educational resources. When educators operate with extended
school days that do not include any time for unstructured freedom or play outdoors, children lose
valuable – yes, valuable – playtime.
According to a Time Magazine article, research has shown that recessis just as important for
children’s development as being in the classroom. Pediatricians are advocating for unstructured
playtime simply because, especially at a young age, kids just need a break.
When a school is focused too intently on playing catch­up with students who came in below
standard grade level, play falls very easily by the wayside as teachers jump quickly from one
subject to the next, essentially overloading children with knowledge and information that they
cannot process all at once. Creating scheduled time in the day for an unstructured break creates
downtime between the complicated intellectual challenges that kids face in each subject they
study.
Very few states actually impose mandatory recess or physical education. Only three, in fact –
Delaware, Virginia and Nebraska – require 20 minutes of recess every day. And, as child
development specialists note, recess and physical education are in no way the same thing.
While the often­unmet standard of 150 minutes per week of physical education is a crucial piece
of elementary education, the unstructured nature of recess sets it apart.
Without intentionally scheduled play built into school days, children’s attention spans and
capabilities for processing information suffer. These children end up finding little enjoyment in
school. Even worse, according to a study by the New York Times, is when teachers take away
recess or unstructured playtime as punishment for misbehavior, often from the kids who most
need a break from classroom time.

2. For many children, physical education and recess are also the only forms of exercise that they
get away from home. Young children, like all people, need to exercise frequently. Because
children are less self­aware than adults, exercise – just like play – must be an intentional
aspect of their schedules. Without recess or even a period of structured physical activity, these
kids lose all the benefits of exercise. With child obesity on the rise, this is a problem that
schools could help to solve rather than contribute to.
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/health/24well.html
http://healthland.time.com/2012/12/31/yay­for­recess­pediatricians­say­its­as­important­as­math
­or­reading/