We know that health begins long before illness
strikes. It starts where people live, work, learn and play. One of the
best ways to influence the health and well-being of children is in the
schoolyard at recess.
A growing body of research shows that play
is essential to the physical, social and emotional development of kids.
But recess tends to be an afterthought when it comes to education
policy, and we’ve even seen recess minutes steadily decline as a result.
The
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation decided to ask elementary school
principals what they thought about recess and its value to the school
day. RWJF commissioned a first-of-its-kind Gallup poll of 1,951
principals in partnership with the National Association of Elementary
School Principals and Playworks, a Vulnerable Populations grantee.
Overwhelmingly,
principals reported that recess has a strong positive impact on
academic achievement. Students listened better and were more focused
after recess. And principals widely agreed that recess positively
impacts social development and well-being.
But principals also
issued a plea for help. Recess is a difficult time of day to manage,
and as a result disciplinary issues arise which are counterproductive
for learning. As we have seen first hand with Playworks, the good news
is that even a small investment in recess can have an outsized benefit
to students’ learning and well-being.
It is time for us to take
play seriously as an opportunity to improve health and academic
achievement. With proper staffing and training, elementary schools will
see the return on recess in the classroom and beyond.
State of Play Recess Report: http://www.rwjf.org/files/research/stateofplayrecessreportgallup.pdf