I don't know about you, but I still remember recesses being punished in class for talking to my classmate for a minute or for not finishing a task that seemed complicated to me due to lack of time. When I had to be left without a patio, I thought that hopefully in the future these situations would not occur in the educational field. Obviously, I couldn't be more wrong.
The other day I met a neighbor who is going to third grade (public educational center) on the portal with a very angry face. Seeing him like this and knowing him for a long time, I asked him what was wrong with him and why he was sad. The boy answered me right away: «Mel, is that today they have left me without recess for not finishing an exercise. They told me that I have to hurry up and be as fast as my teammates.
In that sentence there are two things that I do not share. The first, is to rush a student to finish an exercise. That way you will get nervous and will not get it right. The second is leaving a student without recess for whatever reason and even less targeting it as a punishment or as something bad. Does it seem unfair to me? Not only does it seem unfair to me, but it is a completely outdated measure that shows that sometimes we go backwards when it comes to education.
Recess is absolutely necessary for all students and even more so for younger children. It must be taken into account that many hours are spent in the classrooms, trying to acquire and assimilate the knowledge explained by the teachers. It is almost an obligation that students have a few minutes of disconnection, relaxation and leisure in the school day so that the learning process remains correct. To this day, there are some teachers (fortunately not all) who do not take into account how beneficial recess is for students.
In this way, I hope this post is useful and that school recess is a right for students.
Motor and physical activities are developed
Many students use the scarce recess time to play sports such as soccer or basketball. In this way, the students are exercising physically. They are having fun playing and keeping their health in mind. It is clear that two hours a week of physical education is not enough. That is why it is so important that no student stays in the classroom punished.
Teamwork and cooperation are encouraged
Through group sports that are played at recess, students learn what team spirit, solidarity, and empathy between peers already mean. better manage failure if a game is lost. They learn to be respectful of others and diversity, non-rejection and non-discrimination are encouraged. That is to say, in half an hour of recess the education in values is being favored. In addition, in some educational centers the teachers themselves join in to play with the students. In this way, an active and cooperative learning takes place.
Communication and social relationships are strengthened
It is recess when students can talk about Free form and without any type of restrictions. They can also be with friends. Friends who may not be in the same course or class and who want to be with them. If they are punished without recess, they will not be able to see or speak to each other until after class. And that, on many occasions, is insufficient time.
Creativity and imagination are encouraged
It is the little ones who invent a lot of games at recess. What are the benefits of this? Well, what is being favored creativity, originality and imagination. Do not forget that the above concepts are incredibly important for a well-rounded personal development. And recess, sometimes, is the only situation that students have to let go and be themselves.
Before ending the post in defense of school recess, I would like to make a couple of things clear. I look forward to discussing them with you in the comments!
30 minutes of recess is not enough
And it is the truth. 30 minutes is not enough. In that free time, the students take the opportunity to go to the bathroom and eat lunch. That is if we do not talk about the queues that form on the stairs to go down to the patio. That is, 30 minutes, recess stays at about 15. And 15 minutes is not enough for students to disconnect, practice free play, socialize and have a little leisure before returning to class.
Rework classes and assignments for recess
There are teachers who do not understand that not all students are the same and that they have different learning rates among them. They must adapt exercises and duration of classes so that no student is left without recess due to lack of time. In other words, when I was in primary school, the math teacher would put three problems on the board with eight minutes left in class. I never kept quiet and that's why I was left without recess. Currently, these situations continue to occur and should not be. Designing and organizing class time is essential for teachers.
When is it going to be understood that punishments are obsolete?
And not only obsolete, but they hurt and make students feel bad. Not only is the phrase "punished without recess" it is "punished with double the duties" "punished without seeing the movie" "punished to do the work alone." From my point of view, threatening, punishing and imposing is useless, much less in education. More than anything because the student creates a negative image of himself: he begins to see himself as someone incapable and useless. And that greatly affects self-esteem.
I do not know about you, but it seems incredible to me that we are still dragging that "punished without recess." Is it an injustice to leave students without recess? What do you think? Would you like to create a debate?