Say Yes to Recess

By Vicky Schippers - Commentary for Education Week
Traditional recess, that half-hour break in the school day when youngsters can run around freely in the playground (or not) is getting a bad rap. All across the country, it seems, elementary schools have decided to make recess a gentler experience, one more suited to the notion that children face danger on all sides and need our constant vigilance. Different schools give different reasons for this shift, but the underlying factor is the possibility that in an unstructured setting, young people may be unnecessarily bruised, either physically or emotionally. READ MORE