The selection from The Trouble With Boys that I chose to share in my small group today was from page 106. "...movement is important for the healthy development of all kids, but for [boys] it's crucial... Boys need movement to survive. At your son's school, recess should not be optional. Nor should it be given as a reward or taken away as a punishment. Protect recess. There is a strong connection between recess and the well-being and academic achievement of all children but especially young boys."
I think we would all agree that recess is a very important time in all of our students' days, and while 25 minutes a day is probably not even quite enough, at least it's something. But I do think that we could benefit from rethinking how we do recess at our school and particularly our use of recess in our system of consequences. Historically, taking away kids' recess has been the catchall carrot and stick response for undesirable behaviors or unfinished work in the classroom. It often seems like the kids who need the recess time the most are the ones sitting on the bench, and taking away their recess may not be helping to achieve desired behaviors. It also makes me think about the Responsive Classroom idea of logical consequences. The consequences for egregious behaviors should flow directly from the behaviors themselves. Taking away recess time for something that happened in the classroom does not seem particularly logical. I would propose that we stop the practice of taking away recess as a consequence for things that happen in the classroom. Thoughts?
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This has been one of my priorities this year. This summer at Responsive Classroom we talked a lot about logical consequences and the idea that taking away recess isn't really logical (except for infractions AT recess). We also talked about time out as a time for reflection and not punishment.
ReplyDeleteI made it a goal for myself this year not to take recess away from kids unless it was truly logical. At the beginning of the year, it was so easy to fall back into the pattern of time out at recess, but in the past few months I feel like I've been really successful in limiting time out at recess.
I would definitely be interested in getting rid out recess time out. I think it's helpful to think about what infractions lead to kids being on the bench and then brainstorm what other types of consequences we could use with kids instead.
Well I don't agree we should get rid of recess time out but think that we should be selective in how we use it. I have found it successful for some kids. Not everything that goes on in a classroom needs to have a time out at recess but when a student does not change their behavior after being shown choices and after they have been discussed with the whole class I think time out at recess for some behavior is appropriate. I get the feeling that I may be alone with this thinking.
ReplyDeleteThis week I had recess duty for two days. I noticed that I was being more lenient with the rough and tumble play that was going on. At one point I went up to Nic and said "Are you OK with the pushing I see going on. He replied. " It's ok, we are all having fun.
Roberta
Logical consequences are the key. And it is apparent that losing recess falls exclusively on the most restless, mobile kids, and has had little or no effect on them, since they continue to be on the bench. They simply can't connect the two events at the critical moment when they have to make the decision to stop/fix their behavior. If student behavior doesn't change, teachers have to change, (from "Why Johnny Doesn't Behave", tip #9.)
ReplyDeleteThis year and for the most part last year recess time has not been taken away by me, but has been used by other teachers on my students for consequences for behavior that has happened at lunch or recess. If students are not being responsible at recess, I think it's a logical consequence to take away some of their recess that day or the next.
ReplyDeleteIn one case this year a father and I agreed that we would try taking away recess time from his son for ongoing classroom problems after unsuccessfully trying negative but logical consequences in the classroom and at home. Lost recess time didn't help, nor did any of the more logical consequences. What did work for this very energetic boy was to set up a system of regular feedback between me and his father. Even when he has a fairly bad day, reporting to his father every day seems to really help this child feel noticed and improve his behavior in school and at home. In addition, I found that making some modifications for him in the classroom that allowed him to move more often really helped (for example, giving him the option of sitting on the rug for a meeting or at his own table where he could sit or stand).
I am not a very movement-oriented person so I have been challenging myself more and more to notice which children need more movement during the school day, and build it in for the class as a whole. Something I've started doing much more is sending students on errands or water breaks when I can see they need a break from mental work or are becoming restless.
I believe that time out at recess should not be eliminated. However, it should be used wisely. It should not be used as a consequence for everything that occurs in the classroom, but if there are certain events that occur right before or as you are heading to lunch then it can be adequately used. After the allotted time is up the adult should discuss with the child the reasons why they were asked to sit out. It should be used as a reflective time. There are also children who can get quite active and maybe a bit rough so they simply just need a few seconds or minutes just to cool down. I think we have the power to make it what it is and it shouldn't be seen as a punishment.As for the children who do require constant movement we can try to find other consequences that does not directly involve their recess to be taken away.
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