I hope you have been enjoying a play-filled summer with your family. It has been so evident to me during these few months away from school, just how much children learn and grow during play that it emphasizes just how important the fight for RECESS is for our children’s overall wellbeing.

In our local fight to SaveRecess, it was a long difficult year. It was August of last year that I was blindsided by a principal who took our children’s recess time away in favor of more “Time to the TEST” well, actually she gave us 3 reasons which she later rescinded. There I was naive about the policies and procedures and just going with the flow when out of nowhere this principal announced the changes to our children’s RECESS at the kindergarten parents breakfast on the first day of school. It was the beginning of our 6th year at this school and this decision did not sit right with any of the parents in that room. There has been a minimal amount of hate mail and condescending comments from some, but there has more importantly, been NO shortage of support, signatures on petitions, and concerned parents and teacher’s gratitude that has carried me personally through this time. When all reasons this principal gave for shortening recess began to be discounted she relied on the statement that being honest with parents was her greatest weakness, it was easy to see that RECESS was a scape goat – a chance to gain a few extra minutes here or there for more test prep. But, as a mom of 4 elementary age children I know just how important that break is during the stressful school day. And the few minutes gained to task do not outway the detriment to the children’s overall wellbeing. There is really no justification for shortening a recess period when a district allows for up to 30 minutes. Just asking a group of 70 children in a recent survey what was their favorite subject in school, 90% said RECESS. I spend a fair amount of time recalling my own childhood and sharing stories and laughing over the silly moments from playgrounds and classrooms with my kids. In those moments, as my kids are giggly and imagining the fun and sometimes crazy recesses I enjoyed as a kid, I know that the stand I took on behalf of all the students in our school and district was worth every agonizing and challenging moment last year. Proudly, I can say students returning to elementary schools later this month will get to benefit from the signatures, hours of research, school district meetings, committee meetings and confrontations.

Over the summer, CFISD finally decided to require a 20 minute MINIMUM “on the playground” policy for the 2011-2012 school year as was the recommendation made by the SHAC (student health advisory committee) back in February. In addition, if you have read this site at all, you can recall the horrible decision my principal made to allow students in our school to be removed from “non academic” classes, such as Art/MUSIC/Recess without any communication to the parent, no consent was required by our principal to have our children removed from those classes to be placed in “in-school tutoring” if they feared your child would not pass our state standardized test. Well not anymore, now, communication and consent are required before a teacher/principal can remove a child from their normal class schedule for things such as tutoring. Additionally, our principal had shortened our “large group” which consists of PE/ART/MUSIC and they are done on a rotation (but each school has to insure their students get the number of minutes required by the state in PE class. So the principal’s decision to shorten these classes caused our children to no longer meet the state requirement. This principal (and a few others in the district) tried to solve this by having the students RUN LAPS in place of either ART/MUSIC each Tuesday. Well, thankfully the district made the policy that Large Group classes are to be returned back to their full 55 minutes and students will not have to “run laps” in place of either Art/Music. These changes are absolutely done in the best interest of all the students in the district. By the end of the year (right around state testing) our principal had started having teachers use “taking away of recess” as a punishment for students who did not “study” the required minutes for the state testing. This will not be tolerated by the district anymore, either.

It was obvious to parents in our school that our principal might have been feeling the pressure to come in with new policies and carelessly put poor policies in place without thinking of the repercussions. Possibly having fallen into the trap that the test scores, the school ranking, was most important her judgment was probably not the best at the time. As it has been made well aware here at SaveRecess, there is no shortage of media addressing the issue of RECESS, locally, and nationally. Similarly, there is research on every aspect of play and its value for children most especially during the rigors of a school day. Recess is in danger across America for one reason alone, those with the power to shorten it or take it away do so in favor of increasing more “time to the test”. It is the position that the more time the students are forced to stay on task (at a desk or table inside a classroom)- the better their test scores, the better their test scores, the higher the school ranking (the better the principal appears), the better the district ranking (the better the school district administration appears), the better the districts do, the better the state education system appears… And so on, but the misconception here is that appearances matter in the WELLBEING of our children. This problem starts at the top, as pressure mounts against the American Education system because of its falling in its global rankings. Those in a position to institute real change are having their hands forced and are scrambling to fix a failing system. It has become a system that is delegating standards and score systems and testing mandates leading to corruption and scandal and sadly it is causing those in office to forget that at the center of this great debate are the lives of millions of children. It is our children’s happiness, their social development, their ability to adapt and process information, their ability to think critically, problem solve, find and use their creativity and innovation, all are being hindered for the sake of APPEARANCES.  Apparently even the Texas Chair on Education, Rep. Rob Eissler has fallen prey to “appearing” to care for what is best for our children, but in reality, when questioned about HB3770 which he SOLELY REFUSED to give a hearing that would MANDATE RECESS for all Texas school children stated, “We try to leave these things to the discretion of the people running the schools, those who are the people closest to the kids.” What Rep. Eissler forgets, is that WE PARENTS are in fact, closest to ‘the kids’ and we, sir, have voices to institute change for the benefit of our children.  Rep. Eissler may have also fallen into the trap of appearances. What a sad day it is, when this has come to be the case.  One parents comment a while back, was that she was simply stunned that those in the education field (or those in public office) seem to think “kids don’t need to play”, another questioned the rationale in “not giving kids a break” when they (the adults) all get breaks at the ‘office’.  Sometimes it just stumps me, how administrators, district personnel, principals can be so blindsided to the benefit of RECESS. Perhaps its not the lack of knowledge that RECESS is BEST for ALL children, perhaps they choose to focus on merely an outcome that matter on paper, and they forget the hearts, minds and wellbeing of the children they are here to serve???

I don’t know that there is any amount of research (because its already out there) that would wake up administrators, school board presidents, departments of education, senators and congressmen to the harm that is being done as a result of removing RECESS, and the lack of PLAY is having on our developing children. The scientific and neurological data is there, offering proof of focus and retention of material after periods of play and rest from the stress of academia. The behavioral research is there, offering proof of the attention to detail, the increased time on task (less fidgety), and the cooperation there is in classrooms. The sociological research is there, offering proof of the strategies that are simply disappearing from our children’s lives that otherwise would enable them to better handle peer pressure, conflict and social behaviors. It’s time for more districts to take the lead like is being reported. It is time for the message of, KaBooms CEO Darrell Hammond to spread into every community in America. KaBoom is responsible for the building of over 2000 playgrounds in communities across our country. And it is because of the efforts of his organization, and the likes of Playworks and countless others who have picked up the baton that the movement to SAVE and RESTORE PLAY and RECESS is as strong as it is today. The efforts of SaveRecess in CFISD was only successful because of the advocacy support these organizations have to offer. I am hopeful, that as more parents take a stand for their children and the children in their communities that not only will RECESS be restored, but neighborhood playgrounds will be filled with the laughter of our future generations as they embark on the best times of their lives. Play on….

As your children begin their school year, ask about the RECESS POLICY in your school and district. If you need any support or information on how to advocate a positive change in your school or district RECESS POLICY, feel free to contact me and I will aid you with as much information as I can and offer as much support as I am able. We have a long way to go still, but this is a big step in the right direction. Long live RECESS!

And you can sign the petition to the State and House Reps here.

Please pass the word - send emails, ask for friends and neighbors to call their legislators, it is that important, and if you wonder why it is so important, why I have launched myself into an uncomfortable yet necessary position this past school year, look no further than a note I received from my 8 year old 3rd grader.

“Dear Mommy, I cant take it anymore, please help me I am so sad at school, I cant do anything, I am so stupid, I always fail, I hate this mommy please help me, I am scared I won’t pass tax test, I hate this, please is there a school with no stress, please mommy.”(tax test – is actually TAKS test – the texas standardized test – but how appropriate of a mispelling on her behalf)
What is this system doing to our children. A wonderful retired teacher who read this, said she had never seen such a plea from a young child. I understand that this 8 year old is not ALL 8 year olds, but how sad a day is it in the state of an education system that this is how a child feels about school. As an 8 year old, I remember running on the playground, studying for spelling tests and practicing my multiplication facts, I do not remember a year spent preparing for a single test to determine if I learned enough to be promoted to the next grade. There were tests, lots of tests – tests on the state history, tests on grammar rules, tests on science experiments, there were weekly tests, and there were those bigger unit tests, but I never spent an entire school year being pressured into passing ONE single test like my daughter.
What does this have to do with RECESS, well RECESS is a great big part of a child’s school day, as noted by conversations shared with me by dozens of parents. Like, “You know how your childs day was at school because of how they talked about recess” or “Recess is so important to my child’s success that when I ask how was their day its the first thing they talk about”, and “Recess is where my son lets go of his stress so that he isnt miserable the rest of the day”. Recess has always had its place in the school day but as the pressure for schools to perform has shot of the logical and reasonable charts, principals and administrators in an effort to maximize every minute of the school day, reduce or eliminate all free unstructured time from our children’s day. What ever happened to the old adage that “all work and no play make Jack a dull boy”? The research is endless on the positive effects this time has in the life and academic success of our children. My 8 year old was being removed from her non academic classes and recess without my knowledge because her school administrator felt she was at risk for failing the TAKS test.. WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE, she suffered weeks of stress induced TORTUROUS test prep – and I wondered why her personality had shifted and she was withdrawn at home, we wondered why she fought against homework and was more agitated. As we questioned her over time she finally told us what her school was doing and how her schedule had changed. This is just another example of how the school is not putting the child first, but the TEST first. The school had NO remorse over removing my child and blatantly said, they did not need parent permission to remove a child from class. But if there were a law in place to guarantee my child gets that 20 minutes of MUCH NEEDED RECESS, they could not remove her from the playground without my consent. As I speak with other parents they too agree that the administration is further removing themselves from serving the overall needs of our children – THE WHOLE CHILD – but simply looking at our children as a way to achieve STATUS.. One parent put it this way, “If this many # of children pass the TAKS test, then our school will be EXEMPLARY”.. but to a parent what makes a school exemplary – is one who nurtures the whole child, one who values the whole experience school provides, both in the classroom and on the playground, in the art class and on the gymnasium floor….

Please support the passage of House Bill 3770 by signing the petition, calling your state representatives, and forwarding this information to anyone you know in Texas. Several states have already passed similar legislation this session, and we hope those elected in Texas follow suite and stand up for the children in Texas.
Sign the petition here.

My 5 year old asked me over the weekend, ‘mommy, when is summer?’  I asked, why don’t you like school, “well I like (insert teacher name) but school is too long and its NO FUN!”  This from a kindergartener who has 13-18 years of schooling ahead of him, no wonder the drop out rate is as high as it is, no wonder parents are moving away from schools where principals don’t respect the WHOLE CHILD, no wonder we have a generation of young adults who don’t know who they are or what they want to be…. The system is robbing them of their childhood and as parents and citizens we should be outraged.   Parents of CyFair, we have a voice and we can be heard…
Sign Petition Here

Misconceptions:
ALL elementary campuses are reducing RECESS… NOT TRUE, many elementary campuses honor a FULL 30 minute RECESS allowing their students an average of 25 minutes ON the playground.
Your child’s schedule SHOWS a 30 minute RECESS so that indicates they are getting FULL use of that time…. NOT TRUE, according to a document released BY THE SCHOOL DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION, schools TELL parents they have a 30 minute RECESS, but time on the playground varies from as little as 9 minutes to an average of 15 minutes, with the exception being those schools whose PRINCIPALS CHOOSE to allow full use of this 30 minute window.
MOST campuses have shortened LARGE GROUP… NOT TRUE, only a select few campuses have done this and not all HAD to because of ‘logistics’.
You know where your child is while at school based on their schedule… NOT TRUE, there is NO policy which requires PARENT permission to pull a child from a “non” academic course such as RECESS/MUSIC/ART, this can be done and is being done across the district on all elementary grade levels.

“Play is the highest form of research.” Albert Einstein

I miss the way they would run to me when they burst out the door
I miss hearing the stories and dancing to their song
I miss the way they were so ready to come and explore
Where have all the children gone?

I miss the way they hopped up and down eager for a ride
I miss the days their scribbles of art would just come alive
I miss the way they cheered as they ran in stride
Where have all the children gone?

I see them coming, I am hoping today is the day
that they can come out to play
but sadly, they just walk on by so silently,
heading straight inside and forgetting us again.

I miss scoring the winning pass
I miss the jumping and chanting and cheers
I miss the kickballs and games of chase
Where have all the children gone?

I miss the giggles that filled the air as they would climb high
I miss the way they gathered around to pick teams
I miss the rides that soared up to the sky
Where have all the children gone?

I miss the balls bouncing and the swish with each score
I miss the way they always said I was the best at hide and seek
I miss the sounds of happiness that we just couldn’t ignore
Where have all the children gone?

I hear the school bell ring and wait for recess to start
but we are left alone with our broken heart
I see them coming, but they head to the track
while we stay and beg for them to come back.

Where have all the children gone?

So, the questions remain, what are principals gaining by taking this valuable time away from our children? That is an answer we would like the school district to address. There are 7 hours in a child’s school day. In that 7 hours, according to the CyFair ISD website, these students are to have 5.5 hours of “instructional” time. They are to have a 1 hour block for LUNCH/RECESS and then there is a 30 minute window already at the principals discretion. MORE INSTRUCTIONAL (TEST PREP) TIME.. What is there to gain for these principals – because this is NOT the case at ALL the elementary schools within this district. If a principal is to say he/she values what FREE UNSTRUCTURED time provides to our children, then TAKES AWAY HALF of that FREE UNSTRUCTURED PLAY from those same children, I would have say that there MUST BE A REASON… It is obvious that the children DO NOT benefit from such a change – as is stated and cited in RESEARCH DATA over the past 10 years. What is to gain from these minutes ADDED to instructional time that THESE children NEED – that children at other schools within this same district DON’T need? Is it because some of these schools are TITLE 1, if so, should the parents opposed to shortened RECESS and RUNNING LAPS in place of ART/MUSIC move to a school within the district that is NOT TITLE 1, so their children can benefit from a FULL RECESS and FULL ART/MUSIC??
Where is the consistency? Where are these children being treated fairly? Where is the line that says, we value our children as CHILDREN and NOT just as TEST TAKERS? These children are subjected to rote and memorization for the purpose of passing a standardized test, a test that says you are ALL the same. But our children are individuals and a LOT of who they will become is being formed as they are in schools during these 7 hours of each day. And RECESS as FREE UNSTRUCTURED PLAY holds one of the largest influences on how well they do in school and how they develop socially. And it is our shared belief, that shortening of RECESS (and Art/MUSIC) will be a detriment to all the children walking the halls within CYFair for years to come.

Thank you, KaBoom for recognizing the efforts of SaveRecess…
as Playmaker of the month

“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”
Plato (Greek philosopher)

“I believe that those boys who take part in rough, hard play outside of school will not find any need for horse-play in school.”
Theodore Roosevelt (American president)

“Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold.” Joseph Chilton Pearce (author)

“It is paradoxical that many educators and parents still differentiate between a time for learning and a time for play without seeing the vital connection between them.” Leo Buscaglia (author, educator)

“Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.” Kay Redfield Jamison (professor of psychiatry)

“Play fosters belonging and encourages cooperation.” Stuart Brown, M.D. (Contemporary American psychiatrist)

“Play is training for the unexpected.” Marc Bekoff (Contemporary American biologist)

“The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things.” Plato (Greek philosopher)

“Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning…They have to play with what they know to be true in order to find out more, and then they can use what they learn in new forms of play.” Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood)

“The debt we owe to the play of the imagination is incalculable.” Carl Jung (Swiss psychoanalyst)

“It is becoming increasingly clear through research on the brain, as well as in other areas of study, that childhood needs play. Play acts as a forward feed mechanism into courageous, creative, rigorous thinking in adulthood.” Tina Bruce (Professor, London Metropolitan University)

“The very existence of youth is due in part to the necessity for play; the animal does not play because he is young, he has a period of youth because he must play.” Karl Groos (German evolutionary biologist)

“Play permits the child to resolve in symbolic form unsolved problems of the past and to cope directly or symbolically with present concerns. It is also his most significant tool for preparing himself for the future and its tasks.” Bruno Bettelheim (child psychologist)

“It is in playing, and only in playing, that the individual child or adult is able to be creative and to use the whole personality, and it is only in being creative that the individual discovers the self.” D.W. Winnicott (British pediatrician)

“Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn.” O. Fred Donaldson (martial arts master)

“A child loves his play, not because it’s easy, but because it’s hard.” Benjamin Spock (pediatrician, author)

“It’s not so much what children learn through play, but what they won’t learn if we don’t give them the chance to play. Many functional skills like literacy and arithmetic can be learned either through play or through instruction – the issue is the amount of stress on the child. However, many coping skills like compassion, self-regulation, self-confidence, the habit of active engagement, and the motivation to learn and be literate cannot be instructed. They can only be learned through self-directed experience (i.e. play). ~ Susan J. Oliver (author, Playing for Keeps)

“The main characteristic of play – whether of child or adult – is not it content but its mode. Play is an approach to action, not a form of activity.” ~ Jerome Bruner (psychologist, professor)

“Play is not only our creative drive; it’s a fundamental mode of learning.” ~ David Elkind (psychologist, author)

“The activities that are the easiest, cheapest, and most fun to do – such as singing, playing games, reading, storytelling, and just talking and listening – are also the best for child development.” ~ Jerome Singer (professor, Yale University)

“Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood, for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child’s soul.” Friedrich Froebel (founder of the concept of kindergarten)

“If you want to be creative, stay in part a child, with the creativity and invention that characterizes children before they are deformed by adult society.” Jean Piaget (Swiss philosopher)

“Almost all creativity involves purposeful play.” Abraham Maslow (psychologist)

“Play is the highest form of research.” Albert Einstein (scientist)

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” George Bernard Shaw (Playwright, 1856-1960)

I have the privilege of spending time with an adorable 18 month old, and today as we played outside in the grass I watched her joy and saw her spirit delight in the surroundings she explored. There was no motive of our play time, I wanted to enjoy the nice weather and give her a chance to feel the grass, chase the birds and get some fresh air. The play was natural, I didnt tell her NOT to grab a pine cone, but once she discovered its prickly nature she carefully brought it to me mumbling ouch… it was a natural teachable moment. I didnt have to direct her attention to the falling leaves, she ran with joy to join them as they fell to the ground and laughed all the way down. I didnt have to tell her that the birds were making that music, she saw them and tried to imitate their melodies. I didnt have to tell her the mud was wet and gooey because as soon as her hands reached down for the cold moist mud, she hesitated and looked to see if it was ok, and when I didnt direct her, she reached in full fists and squished it between her fingers and giggled. I didnt have to tell her that the squirrel would bite or warn her to be fearful of him, because as she ran towards him he was fearful of her 18 month self gaining on him and he fled to the highest branch, and the conversation that ensued was hysterical. She moaned up the tree as if to invite him down to enjoy her mud pie, he ran higher and seemingly hissed our direction. She wasnt happy with that answer and squealed as loudly as she could and before we knew it he had jumped ship and was out of sight. I wonder in her minds eye, what did she think about that conversation. It didnt seem to bother her because she turned her attention on the balls left by my children and tried to kick a soccer ball, chasing it and falling over it as tried to pick it up. I was so filled with the sense of what was RIGHT at this moment. I was not directly teaching, I was not enforcing rules, I was not structuring her play, and she was engaged, delighted, curious, stimulated and happy.
Then later today, I watched my kindergartener at recess. The kids walked in straight lines hands behind their backs, with no talking to the playground, and no sooner than they were allowed, they scattered to an apparatus, waiting in line for a chance to slide, a few kids played chase, many kids just meandered here and there. I spotted my son, who was waiting for the swings, obviously frustrated with the wait, he went to the line by the slide, obviously frustrated by the wait, he joined in chase and I saw him finally smile for the first time on the playground today. He had no more gotten half way off the basketball court when the teachers called for the kids to come inside. I saw the frustration all over his face as he squatted to the submissive position that says the fun is over, time to go back to class.
Today, I was able to compare these two situations while waiting in carpool. Looking back at a sleeping toddler I smiled remembering her delight. Looking toward the school building I found tears in my eye as the comparison came flooding into my mind. My 5 year old wants nothing more than to be a child, to do the things of a child, to be about the business of a child -to PLAY, yet for 7 hours out of the 12 maybe 13 hours in his day, he is forced to conform to standards that strip him of his very nature and the essence of what makes him who he is. Yes, he should learn reading and writing, counting and shapes.. but he is 5, his kindergarten standards are high and after all we want him to be GLOBALLY COMPETITIVE. (yes you can detect the sense of sarcasm here). But he wants to explore his world, he needs to develop social skills, he needs to get fresh air and have a break from the structure of his day. Do I dare look at this sweet 18 month old and think ‘you need to be globally competitive’ NO! I look at her and I see her innocence, I see her delight and joy, I see her LIGHT in this world – the spark that is uniquely hers alone and in that moment I see it clearly, our focus in this day and age is so far away from what is natural and right for children.
Its all about US.. Parents want bragging rights about where their child attends college, or how successful their children have become. Some parents want to focus on the end result and dont count the cost in the lives of their children. Administrators and lawmakers deal with a bottom line, they deal with numbers, they do not know my childrens names. They balance budgets and propose tax hikes and make sure the state test scores draw more money to our district. The school administrators must conform to the standards set by professionals who dont walk the halls, who are out of touch with the frustrations of our children, who are dropping out at an alarming rate because the system is failing them. They cut RECESS and ART and MUSIC to make time for more test preparations to protect their bottom line and reputation. The teachers, the unsung heroes of our screwed up educational system, bless their hearts for enduring the ridicule and slandering done by dissatisfied parents because their child isnt performing or learning at the level pleasing to the parents. Or at times dealing with children who have given up on themself because there is no one at home supporting them and their educational efforts. Teachers subjected to the scrutiny of a system that base their productivity and/or success on a standardized test score and not on the influence or inspiration they fill the children’s minds and hearts with. Teachers deal with ridiculous mandates to have children SILENTLY READ instead of running around for a few more minutes to stimulate their minds and give them the freedom to be a child so they can return to the classroom to be a more focused and productive student.. Teachers, at some point in their life, were inspired to make a difference in a childs life, and they had no idea what had happened to the profession of teaching in our country. They teach to test, not because they want to but because they have to. They teach to the masses when each child learns differently, because they have to. They teach methods that are years beyond a childs developmental ability and expect them to excel, when they consistently fall short, because they have to. Teachers, my heart goes out to you and the arduous task you have laid out before you. You are graded based on your students test scores, your bonuses are based on these students test scores, your tenure is based on these students test scores… yet teachers all across our country want ONE thing – to inspire a child to LOVE to learn. Yet, their hands are tied… I know, mine were tied once too. Meeting IEP goals, making sure the TEKS were met and documented, changing the curriculum so my 18 students could PASS the test, I did that, too.
But, now I am a parent who faces a dilemma… How do I effect change in a system that doesnt see its faults? How do I help teachers who cant help themselves? How do I rattle a district to see that they are failing the children, when their test scores show differently and they wear that like badge of honor on their sleeve? It’s an increasingly impossible task, but I gaze at this 18 month old in the rearview mirror, I watch my 5 year old on the playground, I hear my 11 year old complain about not having a chance to discover all their is about the topics in school because they only teach what is needed for his state test…. I see and hear and in my heart I know… I cant sit back and say ‘well, its just the way it is’ I wont sit back silent while the system fails us all. Please remember as you read this, the face of your child, remember them at 18 months old, think of their delights and joys as they explored their world and surroundings, think about a preschooler who shouldnt be mandated to memorize- but who wants to chase butterflies and build with blocks, think about the active 5 year old who wants to learn by being creative and exploring the why’s and how to’s and the because of every new thing around them, think about the 10 year old who is inquisitive and wants to investigate every detail of something that draws his attention, think of the conversations with a 14 year old who struggles to find out who she is as she navigates social circles and begins discovering what compels her to learn, think about the 16 year old who sees the whole world as possibility and who just wants a chance to learn and discover for himself what his passion and purpose is in life.
Please remember as you spend time everyday with your children, that they are just that… they are just children, and that is reason enough for me.