[Middle-schoolers going outside for recess]
Dr. Robert Murray (interview): “The Academy of Pediatrics has always supported play, free play for kids, but it’s been increasingly threatened over time. And in school, of course, you know, the drive for test scores and things have really pushed other things out of the way, including recess.”
[Middle-schoolers grabbing balls out of a basket]
Dr. Robert Murray (interview): “What we said in the statement was, they should get a long enough period of time where they can destress and blow-off steam and prepare for the next class. That’s really the importance of that duration.”
[Kindergartener doing stepping exercise in a hallway to get frustration out before heading back to class]
Dr. Robert Murray (interview): “We see three things that are really of concern. One, recess involves a lot of physical activity and we’re desperate to get kids in the U.S. Off their screens and outside and playing with each other.”
[Middle school boys playing basketball at recess]
Dr. Lauren Fiechtner (interview): “As kids get older, they’re more on their screens, and so it’s really helpful, I think, for outdoor activity and recess to be happening as they get older. And we know teenagers also have poor dietary quality and also are more sedentary than our younger kids. So I think it is a really interesting point of these recommendations. And I think. Really great.”
[“30-second dance party” to get energy out in a second-grade classroom]
Dr. Robert Murray (interview): “The second is the social-emotional connection between kids. This is the only place in the child’s school day and maybe in their whole day where they interact together. And that interaction has a lot to do with the development of kids’ executive function, their ability to learn how to work together and stay within the rules and solve problems and communicate.”
[Kids walking around school buses]
Dr. Robert Murray (interview): “And then the third reason, which is more recent, is that there’s good evidence that you’ve gotta take breaks between concentrated bouts of learning in order for the brain to hold that information and store it.”
[Children in a school playground]
Dr. Robert Murray (interview): “Recess should be considered the child’s personal time. It’s their time. It’s not the school’s time or anybody else’s time. And they need to have that time in order to, you know, self-correct issues that may be their emotional things, their dog died, something like that. They need to have that time. So schools need to think about it a little differently than they have in the past and start thinking about the whole child. And how to serve their needs as they try and learn new material.”
[Comfort dog Trixie greeting students at Paw Paw Elementary School]
Dr. Lauren Fiechtner (interview): “Recess is great. We all kind of need recess. Shouldn’t we have it in the workforce too? I think maybe it should be mandatory in the work force. That we all just go out for 20 minutes and just take a breath, you know.”
[Children in a school playground]
Dr. Robert Murray (interview): “It’s a little thing, recess is a little orphan in the school day, but it has a very powerful benefit if it’s used to the fullest.”
This script was provided by The Associated Press.