| Another Freedom Lost- Recess Time Is Gone |
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| Written by Mary Binzel Black |
| Wednesday, 07 July 2010 19:45 |
 Before you think that I am attempting satire or humor, this is a serious attempt to make the reader understand how far the government schools have gone to prepare today's students to accept total government control. In mid-April, an e-mail from the principal issued the directive that no longer could my classroom have its customary recess but that time was to become a time for physical activity that included stations with directed activities with students rotating in 5 minute increments from station to station. No unstructured time was any longer permitted and all students were to be engaged in an activity at all times. The principal warned that she and the vice principal would be monitoring this time very closely and would be walking into the gym (where we had recess) during our new physical activity period to be sure we were adhering to this directive. A five day plan of the four stations was to be on the principal's desk at the end of that school day.The classroom involved in the directive was a Life Skills classroom with nine young men between the chronological ages of 15 to 22 years of age. These students functioned between 1to 4 years of age. Full of adult male energy and little ability to handle it, the classroom is a tremendous challenge and down time is a necessity. Thus for the 20 minutes before doing our assigned task of setting up lunch tables and chairs in the gym for the school, we permitted the "boys" free time. Most days would find some students playing basketball and some doing very necessary sensory activities such as walking, using a sensory swing, or rolling a ball. The men on our support staff would interact with the students and regularly the staff while supervising would use the time to discuss classroom issues and unite in a plan to handle these issues. It was a welcome and necessary 20 minute period of down time. One of our higher functioning young men was most disturbed by our new routine and asked several times why we couldn't have recess. When told that the principal had set some new rules, he took it upon himself to stop in her office to ask her why he could no longer have recess. I followed him into the office and her response to him made me realize the purpose of her directive. My student was told that schools all over were beginning to do away with recess because it was necessary for every moment at school to be used for learning. I escorted my student out of the office with a murmured thank you for the explanation. Any person involved in teaching can recite a litany of things learned at recess. It provides the opportunity to stand on your own among all types of personalities, even the bullies. The normal self-centeredness of the young is nurtured into an awareness of the importance of others with the sharing of playground equipment and playing games that require taking turns. Not to be overlooked is the benefit of the exercise and its role in the battle against childhood obesity. Recess is also important in the preparation of citizens who can handle freedom. The few minutes of recess provide an opportunity for students to practice freedom and develop independence under the supervision of school personnel. There is the freedom to choose the persons with whom to associate. Freedom of choice is involved when students themselves decide how to spend their time. Self-management very necessary in a free society is taught and hopefully learned as a responsibility that comes with the freedom to choose how to spend recess time. Respect of others and their freedom is a most important lesson. The ability to use freedom and get along with others must be developed through practice. As our government continues to take away our freedom to choose and our independence, it should come as no surprise that children must not only be told what to think but prepared to have the government direct their every activity. For many generations, children have been given by their parents the freedom which is appropriate and which they are capable of handling. It is a slow and progressive process but it has in the past yielded strong and responsible citizens capable of living in a free society. If the schools take away recess, an opportunity to reinforce what the parents are teaching at home, we will lose the infusion of responsible citizens into our society. This is an intentional move to use government schools to provide the necessity to further increase government control. An immediate effect of the no recess policy will be a further rift between school and home. The very normal push for independence that begins very early in life and is nurtured in proper degrees at home will become thwarted by ignoring the development of the skills necessary to be independent at school. With little ability to act independently with responsibility, it is to be expected that the young will no longer know how to use free or leisure time in a safe, moral, and constructive manner with the blame for deviant behavior being placed entirely on the home. Certainly there are homes where little if any discipline (which means learning) happens. However more homes than not do provide discipline (again the meaning refers to learning) only to find themselves at odds with the school. If it is necessary for you as a student to attend or you as a parent to send your child to a government school, the reality of the purpose of the government schools cannot be ignored. The home solely becomes the source of learning to be an independent and responsible member of a free society. The government schools when banning recess have stripped themselves of a major opportunity to teach responsible use of freedom. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites         |
| Last Updated on Wednesday, 07 July 2010 21:03 |
"Because cancer is a slow moving and expensive disease to treat, it is not cost-effective disease to treat, it is not cost-effective under socialized medicine to treat the disease too aggressively. This saves governments money but at a high human cost."