Essay example --

Hey Teacher, leave recess alone! In her Huffington Post blog article titled Here’s One Way to Wreck a Child’s Education: Take Away Recess, Haley Krischer takes an emboldened stand against the practice of eliminating recess; which is often done as a punishment or to make more time for instructional learning. I stand in agreement with Krischer. I do not agree with schools taking away recess for any reason with the exception of dangerous weather or environmental circumstances. Yet, research indicates how common the 86-ing of recess is occurring in schools. A study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2010) revealed 77% of school Principals reported taking away recess as a punishment, and 81.5% of schools allow students to be excluded from recess. Krischer begins the article by introducing her 9 year old son and his affinity for recess: â€Å"the only subject he will talk about†. She gives examples of how recess benefits her son such as other students who help him troubleshoot technology issues and challenging him to improve his sports skills. Indeed, the unstructured playtime allows children to explore their environment and develop new ideas and understandings of it and those within it (American Pediatric Association, 2013). Kischer also expressed that children need active play to combat restlessness and that this is especially important for children who may suffer from ADHD, noting that taking away recess as a punishment for misbehavior may be counterproductive and result in increased behavioral problems. A longitudinal study that followed over 10,000 students between the ages of 8 and 9 concluded that student recess of at least 15 minutes resulted in better behavior as rated by teachers (Samuels, 2009). Case studies of boys with at... ...er, H. Here's One Way to Wreck a Child's Education: Take Away Recess . 2013. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hayley-krischer/heres-one-way-to-wreck-a-childs-education-take-away-recess_b_4149596.html National Organization for Sport and Physical Education (2006). POSITION STATEMENT. Retrieved from http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/standards/upload/recess-for-elementary-school-students-2006.pdf Ridgeway,A., Northup, J., Pellegrin, A.,LaRue, R., & Hightshoe, A. (2003). Effects of Recess on the Classroom Behavior of Children With and Without Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. School Psychology Quarterly, 18(3), 253. Robert Johnson Wood Foundation (2010). State of Play. Retrieved from FENTON communications website: http://www.playworks.org/sites/default/files/d6/StateOfPlayFeb2010.pdf Samuels, C. A. (2009). RECESS AND BEHAVIOR. Education Week, 28(20), 4.