On a day where Michelle Obama and the president's cabinet made national headlines by announcing an ambitious goal to return childhood obesity levels to 5 percent by 2030, local news spotlighted retired P.E. teacher Steve Gall's successful campaign to get Arizona schools to consider reintegration of organized recess into the daily routine.
Recess, once considered an elementary school birthright, has fallen out of favor in recent years due to an increased emphasis on standardized tests, budget cuts, and growing concern over safety on the playground. Many elementary schools have no recess at all, while others have significantly reduced recess time.
While recess cuts do buy teachers more instructional time, the cuts also negatively impact children's abilitiy to focus. Many educators wonder if the increase in instructional time actually reduces teacher efficacy. According to a 2008 study by researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, "School children who receive more recess behave better and are likely to learn more."
In addition to providing children with valuable time to burn off steam, recess gives many children their only physically active time of the day. Childhood obesity is out of control, with some experts declaring the rate of overweight and obese children reaches 33 percent. Schools are inadvertently contributing to an expanding tragedy by eliminating recess.
Unfortunately, Mr. Gall's campaign does not mandate recess integration but rather compels districts to hold public hearings on the subject. It is unclear whether there will specially held public hearings on recess or if the subject will simply be added to school board meetings.
People interested in advocating for the reintegration of organized recess should contact their school board representative and attend their board's meeting. For a complete list of Tucson Unified School District board members and meeting times, click here.
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