Our parochial school had recess in the 50s. The church gypsum covered parking lot. We would play tag, kick ball or just toss a ball about unless it was raining or snowing those days we milled about in the basement. No equipment of any kind. The girls primarily socialized. No knifings no shootings perhaps a fist fight but beware if caught a trip to the principal who we believed was hiding
Out from Nuremberg. The point is steam was blown off and friendship kindled.
Our kids deserve no less, imho.
Same for me. We went out for a 15 minute recess after about two hours in school sitting at a desk. We went out again after lunch. We only had the church parking lot. There was no playground equipment. We played games like Red Rover red Rover we dare so and so over. Games like that would not be allowed today.
After blowing off so much energy, kids could sit still for another hour or two. All this was after walking to school. If the family even had a single car, it had gone to work with Dad. No one had two cars.
LOL, I'm pretty sure I know that guy. The "Board of Education" was not a committee of decision-making adults.
In the 50s we had swings, seesaws, a small slide and a tall slide, a six-seater merry-go-round, basketball hoop and court markings on the blacktop, a hopscotch area, an “outdoor amphitheater” built into the hillside, a small softball diamond, and once a year in the spring, a May pole—in our relatively small elementary school built shortly after WW2, not far from the Nation’s Capital. Plenty of the elementary kids also went there after school and weekends to play on the equipment or have bike races—unsupervised. There was an actual hermit living in the adjacent woods. Parents instructed us not to bother him. Hence, he didn’t bother us, although a few dads hiked in there to have a civil chat with him and let him know they were watching. Hence, even the sheriff didn’t have to destroy his little shelter. It was still a free country.