Synthesis Essay: Should Middle School Have Recess?

This proposal serves as a detailed description as to why I believe that elementary school students should be required more free recess time. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) highlights the important of recess because it help the children create social skills that can lead to a happy and healthy adult life. Not only would longer or more recesses promote socialization but also promote a healthier life style for the children. Over the past few years we have begun to notice and trend in childhood obesity and through more recess we can promote a more active and for healthy lifestyle. Free play time has been shown to produce higher cognitive performance and better memory. Schools should not be restricting recess time because they see recess

One major reason why people support structured recess is because, “Recently, policy makers and funding organizations have called for more opportunities for daily activity as a means to address childhood obesity.” (Text 1, Lines 4-6). Structured recess lets students be able to play the same activity. This means that there will be less conflict because students often don’t agree with playing the same activity. For example, one group of students would want to play basketball while another group would want to play football. This doesn’t work out too well, and structured recess would fix that issue. “More children can actively participate in regular activity, irrespective of skill level.” (Text 1, Line 22). Structured recess can also be “a time for the child to make a personal choice between sedentary, physical, creative, or social options.” (Text 1, Lines 14-15). By allowing a structured recess, “Older elementary children may benefit from game instruction and encouragement for total class inclusion.” (Text 1, Lines

Using up energy with a longer recess would help students stay focused and power through the rest of the school day.

In the article Recess Makes Kids Smarter, it makes a case for why recess is necessary in elementary schools. It starts off talking about Nelly Torres, who is a parent at Chicago Public Schools, and how her first and fourth grader didn’t have recess until last year and even now it is only a 10 minute brake once a day. The cut back on recess was brought upon with the No Child Left Behind movement outing pressure in the school work and good scores. This made recess seem like a waste of time that could be used to improve scores. A few things are starting to support bringing recess back with the high childhood obesity rate and The First Lady talking so much about children’s exercise. The NASPE says that the children should get at least 20 minutes of recess per day.

Why Should Middle Schools Have Recess? Are you tired of people complaining because we have recess? Do you want Recess for your grade? Recess is a very important part of the day. It is also valuable in many ways.

One reason why some people feel this way is because recess takes away students class time. In the text it states “The government wants students' test scores to be higher. If schools cut back on recess, then students would have more time to study and learn, and teachers would have more time to teach” ("Should kids have recess every day?" ). This shows that when students have recess it takes away class time/learning time. If schools cut back on recess or didn’t have it at all and gave teachers more time to teach then students could score higher on tests because they had more class time to learn.

First of all, recess can allow students to relax and release energy. According to “Do You Need Recess?” by Mackenzie Carros, “...’Recess is the one break in the day to relax and have fun!’...” (pg. 31) When a student is relaxing or having fun, it helps them take a little break to run or even walk around. That can help teachers with students that have a lot of energy and disrupt class because they will lose some of that energy outside having fun. That is one reason why middle schools should have recess.

My first reason, Why I think we should have recess Is because It helps kids learn. By giving them a way to explore different things around them. Helps kids brains reset and it is also Scientifically tested. And last It helps kids improve their memberizion skills.

Schools in Orange county Florida have began to reduce or cancel recess all together so that students can spend more time in the classroom. But they are not alone administrators across the US are making similar changes. “In a nation of increasingly obese kids, getting rid of recess makes no sense.” (Caplan & Igel, 2015, para. 1) The reason behind all of removing kids from there minutes of free time and adding class time is due to common core examinations. There was not enough time in the day for teachers to be able to teach what the students needed in order to pass the test while still allowing their recess time.

Recess is a scheduled break in every student’s day that students use for unorganized sports and socializing with friends. Having recess teaches Middle Schools and High School students to learn to relax and not be in such a hurry all the time. Students ranging from 6th grade to 12th grade perform a lot better in their academics when given a 15-30 min break. Having that 15-30 minute break also helps students to pay attention and work harder in the class. Student’s need recess because it not only helps them physically but also mentally.

Imagine you’re a middle school student sitting in class, waiting for some type of break. Middle school students are having trouble in class with things such as, health, socializing, and academics. Middle school students should have recess because it can help kids to have better health and focus more on their academics throughout the school day. Children are having a few health problems in schools the most salient is, stress in class, depression/anxiety, diet, and obesity. If we allow children to have time to be on a playground at different intervals it could help kids to feel more positive about the way they look, and that helps depression and obesity.

Much has been made of the role of recess at Global Monarch Academy. Yet little has been said about the importance of recess, and why it is needed at Global Monarch Academy. Recess has traditionally been a regular practice in primary school settings, today it is being either reduced or eliminated all together in an effort to provide more instructional time. Research documents that recess affords many physical, cognitive, and social benefits for primary school children. These benefits have a positive effect on classroom behavior and achievement. In the current era of evidence-based practice, it is important to utilize empirical research when making decisions regarding educational policy.

And last we are going to talk about what is recess. To begin with we are going to talk about why we need recess. Now and days kids are just sitting in class rooms locked up learning all the time witch learning is good but it feels like our brain is going to explode this is why we need recess. Our brain needs to relax sometimes if our brain doesn’t get a break it probably won’t be able to function right .

Many schools are now organizing school day schedules to maximize instructional time and minimize non-instructional time, such as recess (Pellegrini & Bohn, 2005). Schools made this shift in response to increased state testing and the associated pressures of funding. Some also believe that the shift to more instructional time and less non-instructional time was worsened with the adoption of Common Core standards in elementary schools. However, this may not be the best move for schools or for long-term student success.

When at recess kids tend to talk with their friends outside rather than inside the classroom. Most kids get in trouble at school for talking during class, but with the short bell schedule and little time at lunch kids will want to talk with friends therefor in the classroom. If a new kid is at the school kids will be tempted to talk with this person, but without recess the kids will never meet unless they talk in the hall and be late or in the classroom.