Posted on 03/25/2006 5:49:06 PM PST by ChessMan
Principals Cut Recess Time Schools Want More Time For Instruction
POSTED: 5:52 pm EST March 23, 2006 UPDATED: 11:15 pm EST March 23, 2006
FALL RIVER, Mass. -- Two elementary schools in Fall River have decided to eliminate morning recess to give kids more time to study.
NBC 10's Larry Estepa talked to parents who call that decision a mistake.
"I absolutely believe they should have recess. I'm a liaison for the school, and I'm the one who's advocating for recess," said Kathy King, a parent of a third-grader.
Fall River Superintendent Nicholas Fischer said some of his principals decided to eliminate morning recess.
"I think what the principals are trying to balance is learning time versus relaxation time," Fischer said.
Fischer said he lets his principals decide how best to use recess. He said it would vary from school to school, even grade to grade, to let students get the best out of it.
"It's up to them," he said.
So far, only two principals, including the principal at Small Elementary, trumped recess with more time in class.
Students at Small still get recess after lunch.
"Just to run around get some energy out. Then they can go back to thinking," Carrie Jarabek, a parent, said.
But with standardized test standards staring down at them, teachers want more time to develop skills.
"There are clearly increased pressures on teachers and principals to make the best use of all learning time," Fischer said.
Parents argue kids don't get enough exercise, especially after school.
"Nowadays, they go home and stay in the house, watch TV, play the video games," said Teresa Pimental, the mother of a fourth-grader.
Which adds to a problem that school recess alone can't solve.
"Recess isn't necessarily exercise for all kids," Fischer said.
Fischer said they need to get more of that at home.
"I'm a mother that's at home. I make sure she gets outside as often as possible," parent Taryn Camara said.
There are drugs to control that now.
One of my sons was having a hard time learning to read in school. He was tested and found to have ADD. I did not want him on drugs. I decided to home school him for part of second and all of third grade. We did all subjects, but focused on reading a lot and on learning all the math facts and applications through long division. He ended up the third grade toying with algebra. We worked together for all of one hour per day and he worked on his own for about two hours per day. We took field trips and built a shed.
When he returned to the herd for the fourth grade, he was reading at the upper sixth grade level and knew math into middle school. If he had stayed in home school and kept up his pace of learning, he could have graduated at age 12.
I am just sharing this with you to make the point that the public schools waste A LOT of time. It is almost a crime.
I did the same. Mine had a reading problem. I had to pull him out and teach him to read too. The hardest part was teaching him to enjoy it though. It was to the point that he hated books. Now you hardly see him without one.
Your son is so fortunate his mom taught him to love reading. Kids who can not read really suffer.
My guy loved stories and books when I read them. But he always built with blocks or some other movement while I read when he was little. He did not want to sit still long enough to read a book himself.
I bought an exercise bike with a ledge and light for a book and that is where he read when he did not want to stay still. It was fun figuring out how to help him organize himself and how to make learning joyful for him.
And we got really close, too. We will always be close.
No need for recess when you've got Ritalin and Clonapin.
Mrs VS
I'll assume that that was a joke.
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