I may no longer be able to recite the Gettysburg Address from memory
and I doubt I still remember the finer details of Lewis and Clark’s
great expedition, but one important lesson I do remember from my
elementary school days is the proper strategy for picking team members
for a game of Red Rover. And I bet I’m not the only one! Recess was an
important part of my school day not only because I got to spend time
having fun with my friends, but also because it allowed me to get
outside and, though I was unaware of it at the time, experience the many
benefits of physical activity. For that very reason, today some Chicago
public schools, starting at the preschool level, are working towards
re-introducing recess into their school day.
Over a decade ago, Chicago public schools removed recess from their
day, in favor of a 20-minute lunch period for students and lunch at the
end of the day for teachers. Now, however, along with the Chicago
Department of Public Health’s push to have students spend less time in
front of a screen and more time being active, parents and advocacy groups are working to include a 90-minute recess period in students’ days.
Starting in November, only 60 minutes or less out of the school day can
be spent on computers or watching TV, while at least 60 minutes will be
spent in physical activity.
At the moment, this push for a longer recess period is only occurring
at the preschool level. However, the hope is that encouraging children
to be active early on will have a positive impact later in students’
lives. Like so many other areas across the country, Chicago is a city
riddled with childhood obesity and obesity-related diseases, and parents
and teachers alike hope that measures taken now will help reinforce and
promote healthy lifestyle choices. In addition to lengthening recess,
many schools will not serve milk that has more than a 1% fat content and
will only serve 100% juice.
Although not every school or district may be too keen on the idea of
taking away from active learning time, this incentive is something that
schools should seriously consider. In light of the obesity epidemic
troubling Americans of all ages, schools need to start teaching healthy
lifestyle choices to their students, and promoting more physical
activity during recess is a great place to start. Not only will students
get moving, reducing the risk of conditions such as diabetes,
hypertension, and high cholesterol, but also they’ll have fun and expand
upon their social skills in doing so.
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