Play time predicament

Schools are playing a game of tug- of-war with children’s time.

On one side, teachers and advocates are pulling for children to have recess. On the other, state and federal academic policies pull every minute to the classroom. (Watch "Recess," a Monitor multimedia production)

Since federal and state accountability programs began to pop up more in the past few years, public school administrators have found themselves trying to balance time for their students’ instruction and other activities.

In some cases, that has left recess time face down in the dirt.

“Principals are trying to make every minute of the day count, (but) we can’t afford to lose those eight to 10 minutes,” said Mario Reyna, McAllen school district’s health and physical education coordinator.

That’s why numerous schools and groups, from local to national, have begun to tug harder at the rope to bring recess back.

Fighting obesity

Last year, the National Parent-Teacher Association and the Cartoon Network launched their “Rescuing Recess” campaign to help revitalize recess programs at schools throughout the country.

James Martinez, a spokesman for the National PTA, said the campaign has received a great response and now the PTA is working on raising 1 million volunteer hours for parents and school officials to run physical activity programs.

Martinez said the National PTA’s push for more recess took off after it learned that at least 40 percent of schools had eliminated the play time from its schedules.

It seems recess advocates have a better grip on the rope, according to a study recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The percentage of states that required elementary schools to provide students with regularly scheduled recess increased from just over 4 percent to nearly 12 percent. Nearly 68 percent of elementary schools throughout the country provide daily recess.

While state and federal laws require public schools to run physical education programs, it’s up to individual schools whether to offer recess.

Many school districts in Hidalgo County said students receive the bulk of their exercise during physical education classes. Schools also use nutrition programs to teach students about adopting healthy lifestyles. But they agree that recess also helps with their efforts to combat childhood obesity, because students receive additional exercise.

Blowing off steam

According to 2004-2005 data from the Texas Department of State Health Services, 31 percent of fourth-grade students, 22 percent of eighth-grade students and 16 percent of 11th-grade students living in the department’s public health region 11 are overweight. Region 11 includes the Rio Grande Valley.

Statewide, 23 percent of fourth-graders, 20 percent of eighth-graders are overweight.

The Texas Legislature passed a law in June setting requirements for physical activity that includes having local school districts’ health advisory councils make recommendations to their districts concerning recess.

Most schools throughout the area give students an additional 10 to 15 minutes after lunch to play outside. Schools also use the extra play time as an incentive for students to behave in class.

Janie Gomez, principal of Dr. William Long Elementary School in Pharr, said one of the first items on her to-do list was to reinstate recess because of the benefits it has for students and teachers.

Although there had been time for children to play during the day over the years, it did not have a set time for recess. Gomez said she wanted to bring back regular recess to help children blow off steam and help teachers and staff members maintain discipline in their classes.

“One thing we’ve noticed is when they go outside, they release a lot of energy,” Gomez said. “That’s the reason why we’re doing it. We realize they do need an outlet.”

In the long run…

Orlando Ledezma, a 7-year-old second-grade student at Long Elementary, says he enjoys playing on the slides and monkey bars.

“I only get to the first part (of the monkey bars) and just fall,” he said.

Orlando said he and some of the other students chase each other or play soccer in the nearby fields.

Classmate Karen Casas, also 7, says she misses the swings, which were taken in for repair earlier this month.

Mario Reyna said physical education teachers like recess because students learn a great deal while playing, especially how to solve problems on their own and cooperate with others.

“(Recess) gives kids a break from stress,” he said. “I think in the long run, (schools) know it’s good for the kids.”

Recess has also become safer, The Associated Press reported. Schools throughout the country, including those locally, have traded in playground equipment made of metal and wood with durable plastic “playscapes” that connect slides, monkey bars and swings.

Craig Buschner — president of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, which has publicly called for schools to include time for recess in addition to physical education classes — said recess provides an extra avenue for children to become physically active, helps them focus on classroom activities and allows them to learn life skills that can’t be learned in the classroom.

And with recess, unlike a PE class, there are no grades to worry about.

“Recess can be a complement, not a replacement for physical education,” said Buschner, who also is a professor of kinesiology at California State University at Chico.

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Jennifer L. Berghom covers education and general assignments at The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4462.