Recess offers valuable benefits
Recess! The ring of the recess bell is one that schools have long sounded and children have eagerly anticipated each day. Yet, over the years, these refuges of unstructured time for children to develop social skills, problem solving, creative thinking and confidence, and to experience the joy of play, have come under increasing pressure with the need to compress more learning into the school day, or adjust hours to meet the demands of the work world.
Just like adults who look forward to the mid-morning coffee break that lets them take their minds off work, talk to friends and relax for a few moments before tackling the next task, students need time to recharge and reconnect. They look forward to a healthy snack, meeting friends and having an opportunity to forget about their studies for a few moments and have fun.
On the surface, recess is all about fun — climbing, running, jumping and playing games. Recess offers a physical break from the rigours of concentrated academic challenges in the classroom but, for many children, it can also offer cognitive, social and emotional benefits. Studies have shown that academic performance can be increased following a break and that children are more attentive and productive following recess. Outside of these academic gains, there is, of course, the opportunity to exercise through play and spend time outdoors getting their much-need dose of nature, or “vitamin N” as highlighted recently during Mental Health Week. Recess also provides children the opportunity to gain practical social skills and learn how to problem solve and interact with their peers.
Recess time helps children to develop communication skills, learn to negotiate, co-operate, share and cope with their world with limited adult input. All of us can likely remember the many friends we made and lost during recess, just like we can remember the arguments, the trading of some important item we all wanted, the debates over the best hockey player, the competition over who could do some crazy stunt the best or just time to sit and talk for a few moments.
As we seek ways to accommodate the everincreasing complexity of teaching children and the time required to do so, let’s not forget that the very simple concept of play provides great opportunities to develop our children into happy and productive adults.
Dave Driscoll is the superintendent of Livingstone Range School Division No. 68.