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Should school children have structured recess?
Asked at Hy-Vee, 4000 W. Sixth St. on March 16, 2010
“No, children’s lives are structured enough as it is.”
“Not every day, two out of five (days).”
“No, I think they should just be allowed to run free and do whatever they want.”
“No, I think I like the idea of organized chaos. … Let the kids develop their own imagination.”
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Comments
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snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
Give the little nippers some lawn darts & turn 'em loose.
BorderRuffian (anonymous) says…
Why is it that we adults seem to think that every minute of our kids lives needs to be structured? Why not let them just play once in a while? Why are we in such a hurry to make them just like our over-stressed, neurotic selves? Perhaps is it us who need a little unstructured time and space just to unwind and act naturally.
grammaddy (anonymous) says…
Agreed. Why?
rdragon (M. Lindeman) says…
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
Give the little nippers some lawn darts & turn 'em loose.
rdragon writes:
Now that brings back memories, I believe it ended with a hospital visit.
BorderRuffian (anonymous) says…
Why is it that we adults seem to think that every minute of our kids lives needs to be structured? Why not let them just play once in a while? Why are we in such a hurry to make them just like our over-stressed, neurotic selves? Perhaps is it us who need a little unstructured time and space just to unwind and act naturally.
rdragon writes:
Border I would have to agree with you.
LadyJ (anonymous) says…
Took care of a kid for awhile that had been in preschool since he was an infant. The child could not go into a room of toys, books, and crafts and find anything to do. Would just stand there until you told him what to play with. Took months until he would just do something himself.
Informed (anonymous) says…
If it's structured, it's not really recess, is it? It would be just another PE class.
autie (anonymous) says…
well, definitely not Syracuse. Not this year. They'll advance, just not very far.
honeychild (Mel Briscoe) says…
what's the point of recess if you can't go buck wild and do what you want?
mom_of_three (anonymous) says…
Isn't that the point of recess? To run wild and do what you want. Don't most kids find something to do on their own?
The_Original_Bob (anonymous) says…
Now Autie has his mind clear.
RETICENT_IRREVERENT (Ronaldo Ignacio) says…
Damn anal retentive tag banners.
♥Free the kids!!!♥
CWGOKU (anonymous) says…
I am with Borderruffian. Let them go free. Wait, hang on, I have to go free willy.
autie (anonymous) says…
Free the kids?
♣Free Hugo♣
autie (anonymous) says…
Actually, it would not be too crazy at all to have three big twelve teams in the final four....stranger things have happened. Wouldn't that be too cool....beat K-state on Saturday and then beat Baylor on Monday night......
BABBOY (anonymous) says…
Oh you do not want me to go there.
What I want to do, no body would ever want to fund with their tax dollars.
I feel a rant so I will just let it go at that.
Recesses should be breaks and school should be all day long and teachers should be better paid. As it is now, why would any one want to be a teacher? Anyone with a half brain can see that teaching is dying profession and that young people should go into some other area. That not the way I want it, but it is the way this cheap nation on downward spiral wants it. This stupid country will gladly spend money on a war, but not on education nor on health care or any thing else..
(step back from the keyboard and move on to the Rivals site or to the ESPN site)
timetospeakup (anonymous) says…
I think "structured recess" is what they have now in PE class. Leave recess alone, it's supposed to be a break.
mommaeffortx2 (anonymous) says…
What the heck is a structured recess? No no and no you are only a child once.
labmonkey (anonymous) says…
Okay LJworld and JKealing....why can we not have the accompanying article linked to the OTS? I am really interested in reading if this is just a bad idea being discussed, or if some hair-brained administrator is actually trying to implement this.
labmonkey (anonymous) says…
Okay LJworld and JKealing....why can we not have the accompanying article linked to the OTS? I am really interested in reading if this is just a bad idea being discussed, or if some hair-brained administrator is actually trying to implement this.
Did_I_say_that (DIST) says…
Structured: something arranged in a definite pattern of organization
Recess: a suspension of business or procedure often for rest or relaxation
Oxymoron: a combination of contradictory or incongruous words
honeychild (Mel Briscoe) says…
^^^ exactly.
prospector (anonymous) says…
I always preferred willy nilly recesses.
Nobody likes structure, nobody...
sunshine_noise (anonymous) says…
BordorRuffin you just hit it on the nose. We adults have no time for such freedom of expression because we are so consumed with structure. Reason there are murders, aruguments, job loss, just angry, uptight, stressed out people. Probably on of the reasons heart disease has risen. Even when we have an off time it is harried and structured with something. Nothing wrong with a little idle time to get the creative juices flowing, to smile at a stranger or laugh at the irony of life.
RETICENT_IRREVERENT (Ronaldo Ignacio) says…
And get rid of those damn nazi recess coaches.
Yeah I know they will point to their studies that structured recess periods lead to better behaved cows in class that can more easily be led to academic slaughter, but unstructured recess provides social, developmental, physical and get this, academic benefits.
Just another way to control the proles.
George_Braziller (anonymous) says…
Recess is structured by the kids themselves. We were always organizing and making up our own games. Sometimes it was just a group of four or five having "swing races," other times it was the entire class deciding to play dodge ball. One activity would be popular for two or three days and then we'd switch to something new.
Scattered (anonymous) says…
Oh, please, let them use their imaginations during this FREE time!
Back in the early sixties, in my fifth grade class, we had no recess choices. In good weather we had to play baseball or kickball, in bad weather we all had to slide on this gigantic frozen puddle area on the playground. (can you imagine the legal implications of that today?)
I absolutely loved school, but those were the longest of days and I dreaded recess!
autie (anonymous) says…
besides, wasn't recess when you sneaked off in the bushes and got a real education?
Jaylee (anonymous) says…
oh man that would have been so cool to be talking with friends and waiting for finish that game of H-O-R-S-E or kickball from before school or the day before, but the teachers all lead us single file to the four square box
not.
denak (anonymous) says…
I think structure is important for kids (ie a structured bedtime) but kids learn better when they are just allowed to play.
It is hard for adults to work 8, 9 hours a day imagine what how hard it is for kids. Let them go out and just run wild and have fun, blow some steam off. Kids need that more than "structured" recess.
Dena
LoveThsLife (anonymous) says…
No, unstructured play is important to child development.
Did_I_say_that (DIST) says…
The imaginary play that we did at recess would have the following consequences today:
1: Mandated sensitivity training.
2. Write apology letters.
3. Ten day suspension from school or mandatory expulsion.
Many times, our recess started out by finding the best sticks for pretend guns and/or spears and arrows. Once the weapons of mass destruction were located and allocated, sides were chosen up, and an imaginary war between the Cowboys and Indians commenced. "Be careful with that stick," came the warning from the Teacher stuck on playground duty. Back than, adults knew the difference between sticks and guns.
consumer1 (anonymous) says…
This question had to originate in East Lawrence. Probably by the same people who want kids to wear uniforms at school. Heck, let's go ahead and implant a chip in em while were at it.
KansasPerson (anonymous) says…
What great memories came back when I read the comments. Four-square, jump-rope, kickball, and all the crazy kid games like Mother May I, Mimsies, Crack the Whip.... I like those red kickballs we used to use. Never saw one like that outside of a school playground. Playing on the swings and the monkey bars. Playing jacks if we could find a smooth space; practicing cheers and handstands and such. Boys running around trying to flip up the girls' skirts and yelling, "It's Dress-Up Day!" .... you'd get sent home from school, at least, for that these days!
I'm all for non-structured recess. Shoot, I sometimes had fun just bouncing a ball against a wall or a flight of steps.
Do they still have children as "Safeties?" Remember, they wore an orange belt?
jumpin_catfish (anonymous) says…
Structure is the downfall of civilization.
beatrice (anonymous) says…
Kids still get recess?
KansasPerson (anonymous) says…
Bea, you must not live too near a school. :) They sure do get recess, and they scream just as loudly as we ever did!
merrill (anonymous) says…
maybe supervised by someone who would not be afraid to give bully types a great big time out.
Otherwise let them burn off a few calories.
crazyks (anonymous) says…
Why in the world would anyone think every minute of a kid's life should be structured around something?
Let kids be kids...they'll have enough structure later on in life...