Should Recess Be Abolished?

In my school, we only have two days where we go outside for a recess. On a weekly basis, students lose their recess and end up sitting down watching the others play. Schools across the United States have taken away recess as a punishment for those who have misbehaved or haven’t finished their work. This punishment needs to abolished because according to the American Pediatric Association every student requires 15 - 20 minutes of outside time. Students who lose their recess are the ones who need it the most because recess provides a break for students so that they may refill their depleted self-control reserve, develop crucial social and communication skills, and enhance their memory and cognitive skills. The rest of this essay will further explain the points made earlier and will provide an argument backed by facts from the American Pediatric Association(APA).

Throughout the day, students are required to sit still, keep quiet, and pay attention to the teacher. These three things need great self-control and students physically cannot do this all day without a break
in the middle to refill their reserve of self-control. Recess is the break they require, and it is denied based on whether they talked in class or didn’t finish their work. Children need a physical release so they can release the stress they have accumulated during the first part of their classes. Even adults can’t sit in their office their whole day, which is why many office workers go to the gym during their lunch breaks. Students usually began to start misbehaving right before lunch or their recess time. Schools that have abolished the recess punishment have noticed that students have calmed down, and no longer disrupt the class.

Students develop social skills on the playground. Recess promotes students to talk and to interact with each other. They learn social and communication because they organize games and other group activities. The socialize with their peers and decide as a group what they will play. The students communicate and pick teams as well as settle rules and boundaries for their various games. When students lose their recess, they are isolated from the rest of the group, and they don’t get the chance to be apart of the group. They miss out on the fun and the communication because sometimes when the students play the same game the next day, the student that was sitting out the other day is just thrown into the game but had no part in the actual creation of the game the day before. They miss out on the communication skills their developing brain needs. Sitting out leads to isolation and the students that frequently lose their recess have trouble in their later life with communication and settling things because while everyone else was learning how to talk, he or she was sitting out watching the others play.

Breaks allow enhanced memory and cognitive skills so why would we take away something that benefits us?
In class, students are learning and absorbing information, but to remember what they learned, it needs to set in, which takes time. Recess gives them a break they need to let what they learned to soak in. Recess allows them to take a break from what they just learned and went out into an environment of pure fun and relaxation. Many adults can't work for multiple hours straight so they shouldn't expect children to do the same. Many offices give breaks to their workers and to take that away would be unfair, therefore causing their employees to less productive. The same ruling applies to schools if they want productive students there needs to be the break that can't be taken away. Recess enhances memory and cognitive skills because it allows kids to refresh themselves with some fresh air and open
space

Many schools take away recess as a punishment for bad behavior or incomplete work. This needs to be done away with because of it harmful and negative effects on its recipients. The American Pediatric Association highly recommends 15-20 minute of outside time every day. Students who lose their recess not only suffer from physical problems but also mental problems. Students who lose their recess are the one who need it the most because recess provides a break for students so that they may refill their depleted self-control reserve, develop crucial social and communication skills, and enhance their memory and cognitive skills. Some schools have guinea pigged this idea and have found astonishing results in the areas of student productivity and behavior. Adults need breaks during their workday, so the same rule needs to be applied to schools. Overall the real question is why do we continue to take away something that benefits children and their education? I hope that I have been able to convince of how important recess is and I hope that you will spread this message to your administrators.