An article in the NY Times entitled:The 3 R’s? A Fourth Is Crucial, Too: Recess suggests that, "The best way to improve children’s performance in the classroom may be to take them out of it." This comes as no surprise to my blog readers but we can't hear it enough right?
The NY Times article cited the study published last month in the journal Pediatrics which looked at the links between recess and classroom behavior in children age 8 and 9 years old. Here's a link to my blog on the topic, Recess and Classroom Behavior Study Released.
The lead researcher, Dr. Romina M. Barros, a pediatrician and an assistant clinical professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, said the findings were important because many schools did not view recess as essential to education. I enjoyed a blog comment to the article which said simply, "duh".
The exact numbers of schools skipping recess is thought to be between 30-40% according to the NY Times article. "And many children are not getting that break. In the Pediatrics study, 30 percent were found to have little or no daily recess. Another report, from a children’s advocacy group, found that 40 percent of schools surveyed had cut back at least one daily recess period."
