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When Recess Goes, What Else Do We Lose?
Sheila Kahrs, principal of the Haymon-Morris Middle School in Winder, GA, asserts that at her school, “Nobody can be punished in that way. Bad, good, or indifferent, they get recess. I say to the teachers, look, the worse a kid is that day, the more they need it.” In Kahrs’s view, the practice of punishing kids for bad behavior by making them sit out part or all of recess can have the negative effect of making the problem worse when kids lose the opportunity to take a break and work off excess energy.
Tahnee Muhammad, a New Haven, Connecticut, parent who fought to make recess mandatory in her district, suggests an additional benefit to recess: a more “positive perception of school.” When her son’s school eliminated recess, he began to express unhappiness about going to school. According to Mohammad, “He just was not liking it anymore. In the beginning. I didn’t know what it was. I thought he was being bullied. [He] wouldn’t say, just, I hate school. I asked what about your teacher? What are the tears coming from? What are you not liking? And he replied, ‘We don’t have recess!’”
Matt Rourke/AP Photo
Alternatives for Discipline
It’s fair to ask how teachers are expected to maintain discipline in their classrooms. Many schools have attempted to change the focus from punishment to positive discipline. At Haymon-Morris, Kahrs has long used a positive discipline approach that rewards kids for coming to school ready to learn rather than focusing entirely on discipline problems. In her school, they acknowledge positive behavior using stamp cards that accrue points toward a fun Friday. Positive discipline is one of the central tenets of the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports program, although it leaves the details of school policies up to individual states, districts, and schools.
Another way of looking at the issue is to focus on the learning that can come about through corrective measures. Instead of withholding recess for disciplinary issues in the classroom, for example, Jarrett recommends that consequences should be logically connected to behavior. As Jarrett explains, “I think that teachers need to look for natural consequences of behaviors. If you’re rude to somebody, you apologize. If you don’t get along with the kids in your group, the teacher should arrange your seating […]. There are other things that are appropriate for dealing with misbehavior.”
While the Responsive Classroom offers concrete suggestions for ways to teach students more positive behavior, it is not just about classroom management, but also about making learning more engaging for students. As Anderson points out, “If students don’t enjoy what they’re doing, they’ll misbehave.”
The non-profit Playworks offers another approach to school-wide positive discipline through a structured recess program led by trained coaches. Playworks coaches organize games on the playground and spend considerable time establishing community standards, like treating each other with respect and having, which they encourage through positive reinforcement like high fives. They also use seemingly simple strategies for teaching kids to settle disputes. For example, a key practice in the Playworks recess is the use of rock-paper-scissors to manage conflict. Rather than losing playtime by arguing over issues like who got there first, students are encouraged to play rock-paper-scissors to determine a “winner” and then move on. Angela Rogensues, program director for Playworks in Detroit, says that they tell the kids, “the more time we argue, the less time we have to play.”
I had an opportunity to see a Playworks recess, and the rock-paper-scissors approach, in action when I visited the Roosevelt School in Ferndale, MI. At one point in the 20-minute recess period, two kids were arguing over a foursquare spot and Angela went over to see what was going on. After hearing that they both claimed the same spot, she suggested that they try rock-paper-scissors. The game led to an immediate de-escalation of tensions, with one child returning to line and the other staying in the square. According to Rogensues, the advantage of this approach is that arguments on the playground get settled quickly, rather than being taken back into the classroom after recess.
The program also integrates play sessions into class time once every two weeks, This offers another opportunity to focus on relevant behavior issues. For example, if a class is having a hard time getting along, the Playworks coach might have them engage in cooperative games.
One other key element to Playworks’s approach to encouraging positive discipline is the junior coach program. Every year each school identifies about a dozen older kids to be junior coaches who will help lead recess and encourage play. Considerable time is spent supporting the junior coaches and helping them to be strong leaders and examples for their peers. In choosing junior coaches, the focus is on choosing both children who are natural leaders and those who may not always exhibit positive behavior. By giving those kids a chance to be leaders, Playworks attempts to channel their energy and behavior in a more productive way.
According to Playworks’ founder, Jill Vialet, “Playworks contributes to a healthy school climate - one in which kids are engaged and feel as though they have choice and voice and belong. A healthy school climate is simply a more effective place to teach and learn.”
For Dina Rocheleau, principal of the Roosevelt School in Ferndale, Michigan, Playworks has worked. According to Rocheleau, there have been no disciplinary referrals from recess since Playworks came to the school two years ago. Before that, she was spending much of her time managing disciplinary issues that were arising on the playground. “And the families love it,” she adds.
There are detractors who say that coached recess programs like Playworks are too managed. Olga Jarrett, for instance, expressed “mixed feelings” about such programs because one of the crucial elements that makes recess a learning opportunity is the ability to organize one’s own activities at recess time. Although Playworks allows children to decide what games to participate in or whether to participate at all, she fears that they might miss some of the “cultural transmission” that happens in less structured recess environments.
The Counter Movement: A Resurgence of Recess
Just as many schools are cutting back on recess, and others are leaving it up to individual teachers’ discretion, there is a growing movement to make sure that all children have an opportunity for play during the school day.
In addition to schools partnering with programs like Playworks to ensure that recess is productive at their school, administrators like Sheila Kahrs are taking the lead in re-establishing recess. Seeing recess as a necessary break for all students, Kahrs took the unusual step of introducing recess into her middle school. Kahrs insists on it: “This works for us. This is a non-negotiable of mine.” One reason that Kahrs feels so strongly about the importance of recess at her school is that she fears that many kids are playing video games or watching television after they get home rather than going outside, unless they are in an organized sport. Recess is particularly important, she says, because “I don’t think the children go out when they go home.”
The push for recess has also come from parents: Parents in Chicago successfully lobbied to reintroduce recess in area schools, making it a policy that children are not allowed to have recess withheld for disciplinary reasons. Most recently, parents in New Haven worked with their district to institute a mandatory recess policy for all students, again stipulating that withholding recess is not a disciplinary option.
However, even when there are state laws, there is no guarantee that recess will happen. The push for recess in New Haven was facilitated by a recently passed Connecticut state law requiring recess in all public elementary schools, but individual districts moved slowly to make changes. Even with support from teachers, administrators, and the Board of Education, making recess mandatory was hard work in New Haven, according to Eliza Halsey who joined Tahnee Muhammad and other parents to push for the policy.
According to Halsey, the most important thing that parents can do in advocating for recess is to organize and be prepared for hard work, especially in getting the word out to other parents. Halsey says, “It’s not as easy as saying that our kids should have recess and making it happen”
The good news, Halsey points out, is that districts are looking for parent involvement, and this is one area where parents can advocate for their kids. For the New Haven parents group, it’s not just about recess, but putting recess and education in the context of children’s development, beginning with “small, winnable campaigns.”
Jarrett agrees: “Parents can make a difference […] meeting with the teacher. If that doesn’t help, meet with the principal. Talk about the effect on the home when the child has no break. Many parents say their kids are wild when they get home. Raising it in a respectful way, realizing […] that teachers have challenges. There have to be consequences. Parents and teachers can work together.”
As the policy changes in New Haven and Chicago show, it requires both parents and educators to come together to bring everyday practices into line with what we know about how recess benefits our kids.
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