Let's Hear it From (and For) the Principals!

In the past 14 years at Playworks, I’ve talked with lots of principals. Hundreds of them, easily.

They’ve told me how a good recess positively affects the school climate and makes it easier for students to focus and learn. But they’ve also told me stories about what happens when recess goes awry: that it can become a tipping point — in the wrong direction — for the entire school day.

Most people haven’t had the benefit of hearing what principals think about recess, until now. For the first time, principals across the country were asked to weigh in on the topic of recess.

And guess what? In a national poll conducted by the Gallup organization and sponsored by the National Association of Elementary School Prinicpals (NAESP) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, they said the same thing:

• Recess plays a valuable role not only on the social development of their students, but in classroom learning as well.
• At the same time, principals report that the majority of discipline-related problems occur during recess or lunch.

If you want to hear more from principals, you can check out the survey results or download the report.

These results don’t surprise me — but they do serve as an energizing reminder about why Playworks and our partners do what we do.

As we look at ways to support our schools, enhance learning and work to create a better education system, we need to be listening to the folks who are on the ground in our schools every day.

Recess is not only a tool to get kids active, moving and engaged during the school day; it is an invaluable opportunity to boost learning in the classroom.

How about you? Why else do you think recess is important? Please share a comment below. Or, join the conversation on Twitter by using #rememberrecess. Play on!