Want kids to listen more, fidget less? Try more recess... this school did
https://www.today.com/today/amp/tdna65536
Four times a day, the doors of Eagle Mountain Elementary in Fort Worth, Texas, fling open to let bouncy, bubbly, excited kindergarteners and first-graders pounce onto the playground.
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Five months into the experiment, McBride’s fears had been alleviated. Her students are less fidgety and more focused, she said. They listen more attentively, follow directions and try to solve problems on their own instead of coming to the teacher to fix everything. There are fewer discipline issues.
Amen!
I actually decided at age 12 that recess should be incorporated into Junior High and High School.
That was not a self-centered wish: I was a very good student, and had less difficulty with the lecture setting than most. But I observed how deleterious it was for many to have to sit passively and just listen.
Activity is natural for children - and adults. A forced sedentary routine is counter-productive.