Only 15 Minutes for Recess

The school should not be resposible for our kids physical activity. If parents didn't give their kids video games, tvs, and every other electronic devices and toys they would go out side to find something to do. When growing up I didnt have a tv in my room until I was a senior in high school, I didn't have a phone in my room until I was in middle school. So for enterainment I had to go out side and play and run around. Not only that, but I also got to spend more time with my parents because I couldn't go to my room to hide out in there and watch TV.

At my former elementary school, threre were two recesses: a 30-minute recess after lunch and 20 minute (15 for 6th graders) recess later in the afternoon. To put it bluntly, 15 minutes of recess time (or less) all day is a disservice to the children. Young kids need fresh air and time to play for exercise and to develop necessary social skills. Taking away recess for more work time, seems to have become a national epidemic here in the US, in the age of standardized testing and the need to cover more in a short period of time.

I went through Catholic school and I really don't remember how long recess was, I am sure it wasn't too much longer than 15 minutes though. My son goes to public school and their recess is 15 minutes, it isn't even called recess it is called "brain break". They have Physical education 3 days a week, so the short recess doesn't bother me as much.

When I was a kid -- back when dinosaurs ruled the earth -- we got 15 minute recess morning and afternoon, and an hour for lunch. In addition, we had an hour for PE twice a week, and could play on the playground before and after school because the teachers stayed until 5:00. It bothers me to see school officials, who are supposedly experts on children, expecting children to sit in a classroom all day without any physical activity. They should know as well as any parent, that children have more energy than adults, and if that energy is not expended on the playground, it is likely to burst out at inopportune moments in the classroom. Here at home, my daughter who cares for 4 of my grandchildren (one of her own and three of her sister's) makes sure the children have "outside time" daily or they get too wild in the house. My sister, who teaches special ed kindergarten, has solved the problem in her classroom by writing gross motor skill activities into her lesson plan. Each day, 2 or 3 times a day, the children are taken outside where, under her supervision and assisted by the classroom aide, the children develop their gross motor skills by pedalling tricycles, running an obstacle course, and climbing up slides. In case my little rant didn't answer your question: yes, short recesses are becoming the standard and not just where you live.

When I was in school, recess was 15 minutes. That's going back to elementary. In high school, when we referred to them as breaks instead, they were 12 minutes .. just enough time to change your books over for the next class. Perhaps things were different where you are, they haven't changed here. If anything, physical education is pursued here more than it was. The kids still have their gym class, like I did when I was a kid, but they are also encouraged, and in some cases, pushed into extracurricular activities. In fact, here in Ontario, he are required to have so many extracurricular activity credits in order to graduate high school at all.

At my school we also only have 15 Minutes of recess it is not good. Kids at my school hate having short recess and wish we could play more!

I think short recesses are becoming the standard. My sons is almost 20min and thats all. I am in NY and it seems it gets lower and lower each yr.

ya i agree with u kids should be treated as kids.they should be allowed to have fun.they must be exposed to everythin.studies isnt the only important thing in our life.life becomes kind of bizzard n strange if we restrict ourselves .so we must atleast let the kids of next generation enjoy the fruits

i think recess of 15 minutes is a very common one!! but rather recess we had a separate P.T. lectures of about 1 hour every day in my school days...and this was sufficient for us!! ya its true that 15 min is not sufficient for the taking meal they should give atleast 30-45 min. lunch-break...so that they can eat their tiffins properly!!

When I was young our recess was only for 20 minutes and I studied at a Private Catholic school. Yeah it's tough that adults often pusnish children for acting their age, I used to say that to my teachers when they try to punish us for talking while the teacher is out, and you wouldn't believe how much trouble I got into just by syaing that.

Wow. When I was kid (wasn't that long ago), we got 45 minutes for Recess and a seperate lunch time! 15 minutes is just not long enough when you're that young and being forced to sit all day.

well that is how it work bieng a teacher hehehe

When I was in grade school, up until 4th or 5th grade we actually had two recesses. It was awesome. Between the two of them the total time was probably about an hour or so. And then once we got to 4th or 5th (I can't remember which) it changed to just one recess; but still about half an hour or more. Either way, 15 minutes sounds like nothing. How can kids even get in any playing in that short amount of time? By the time they've started something, they have to stop! I haven't heard of other schools shortening their recesses..but maybe it is happening. I think every school should have at least 30-45 minutes of recess; it's only fair to the kids.

I hear ya lady...and I agree. I have several grandchildren in school ranging from headstart to 9th grade. They do treat them like older people. They expect thm to sit still, be quiet, and not do anything. In headstart my grand-daughte has to sit on the floor (on a mat) for just about the whole day. This is from 7:50 to 1:45 except for the short time at lunch, 15 minutes and the trip there and back about 10 mintutes and their one time outside for no more than 20 to 30 minutes and that's if there is no rain or snow or it's not too wet or cold out. This is a 4 year old we are talkin about that her day is planned minute by minute. When I go to pick her up she's sitting on the floor not saying a word, cross-legged, about to fall asleep most of the time or just lookin down when she don't have her arm proped on the knee and her head in her hand. The can't say a word. They as the teacher says, "you have to act like a rock and what does a rock do, not say a word". What are the school systems coming to when they don't want the children acting like children? We use to talk if it was quietly. We had free time. And yes they do take away their play time. What little they have. it's work, work, work...and send more work home with them. If the teachers would stop worry about other things and actually teach the children in creative ways so they can learn they would not have to do so much work. I went to school, everyone did. I did well, so did alot of others without all of this that is going on today. Teachers just stick to a carriculum and will not vary from it to help the very special children that have more to offer or the ones that need extra help. They just go in an do what has to be done in one way and leave. I know, I have one grandson that as tested to be a genuous and they would not offer him any more and held him back so much that he was bored and didn't want to do the repetative work. He told them he knew that work and they knew he did. But they did not care. They had my daughter get him put on pills to calm him don. She faught the school system to no avail. It's all because the teachers do not want to actually teach children, they want adults. No noting to interfer with their list of to-do today. That is so packed there is no room for the children if any of them need one on one. Thank you for letting me vent.

That is really sad. I don't understand why children aren't allowed to act like children. We force them to become adults way too fast anymore.

That is the same here, they just want to keep them busy at work and stuck in the classroom all day. If it wasn't for lunch and special they would be sitting the entire school day. I agree with you, you made great points.

i dont know.

15 minutes is not enough!

I do think that move the public school system is making toward taking away P.E. classes and lowering recess time has a tendency to make children overweight, but parents also have a HUGE role to play in this. I know that most families must work for a living and therefore I don't expect either parent to be home watching their children like a hawk 24 hours a day. However, if parents don't set the example for enjoying physical activity of whatever sort on a regular basis, why should we be surprised when children end up blubbery couch potatoes. Also eating appropriate food is important. Having myself come from a family where healthy eating was NOT emphasized I find it a struggle as an adult to try and eat a balanced diet and not turn to snack foods all the time. I guess I am lucky my family spent a lot of time outdoors when I was growing up.

The private elementary school I went to didn't even have recess, but they did have a PE class for 20 minutes twice a week. When I was in public middle school, there was no such thing as after school extracurricular activities or recess, but a 30 minute PE class every other day. Then, in high school, I was only required to have 1 credit of Physical Education- which was finished my freshman year. So I'm thinking private schools are much worse about recess than public schools. I definitely think shorter recess is become a norm in schools. It's kind of sad, really.