Headline Of The Week Weak
"U.S. school children need less work, more play: study"
Really? CLICK HERE to read the article accompanying this headline.
[Image via WENN.]
U.S. school children need less work, more play: study
All work and no play may be a hazard for some U.S. school children.
Researchers reported on Monday that a growing trend of curbing free time at school may lead to unruly classrooms and rob youngsters of needed exercise and an important chance to socialize.
A look at more than 10,000 children aged 8 and 9 found better classroom behavior among those who had at least a 15-minute break during the school day compared to those who did not, Dr. Romina Barros and colleagues at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York reported.
The behavior assessments were general in nature and not made at any particular time of the school day, their report said.
"The available research suggests that recess may play an important role in the learning, social development, and health of children in elementary school," the research team said in a study published in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
But today many children get less free time and fewer physical outlets at school "because many school districts responded to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 by reducing time committed to recess, the creative arts, and even physical education in an effort to focus on reading and mathematics," they added.
The researchers also found that children not getting recess were more likely to be black, from poor families and attending public schools in large cities.
"This raises concern in light of evidence that many children from disadvantaged backgrounds are not free to roam their neighborhoods or even their own yards unless they are accompanied by adults," the team said. "For many of these children, recess periods may be the only opportunity for them to practice their social skills with other children."
Barros told Reuters that previously published research indicates that poor children often are deprived of recess because "those schools are located in very violent neighborhoods, and there is the concern that children may get exposed to fights or gun shooting while in recess."
In addition, she said, such schools are often overcrowded, with space designated for recess or physical activity turned into classrooms.
The study also said the growing problem of childhood obesity needs to be addressed by more activity, especially at school where children spend so much of their day.
One earlier study found that free time has shrunk for U.S. children in and out of school since the 1970s, the report said. At the same time most elementary schools in Asia provide a 10-minute break after every 40 to 50 minutes of instruction, it added.
Not Eating Is Contagious
THEY NEED MORE VIDEO GAMES!!!!!
Way too long for me to read.
Or else they wind up on PH.com as an ASSHOLE HATER!
Blahhh they do not need this….
oh how nice!
yeh
Re: harrybalsac – haha the hater is coming back. Must have been bored with their loathsome existence.
Children need to be kids. Why stress them out now? They have the rest of their lives to be over worked and stressed out. Let them enjoy being carefree!
Ehhhh
Re: LaDiva – I SEE…WTF…
Re: LaDiva – It's like a mouse is humping your leg.
I always thought they should teach classes on treadmills.
Re: harrybalsac – Last time I attacked this hater[The Flagship FERRY!!] he blocked my replies to him..Some chicken shit fleet alright!!Arghhh!
Children learn through play. That's a proven fact. When they aren't allowed to explore, to use all their senses to learn, they don't learn effectively. This article is spot on.
Re: Mrs. Petunia Picklebottom – Re: Mrs Harry Beaver Poonani – (wink)
Re: Sensitivity – Block reply comes from frequent profile changes, morphing!
Re: Sensitivity – That's b/c this imposter is a waste of human carcass.
Re: harrybalsac – Wait, I though PH is an asshole lover
Re: LaDiva – LOL!!
children are like dogs - you gotta exercise them and burn off that extra energy if you want them to concentrate..
How about some of these kids engaging in physical activity at home as well, instead of sitting down in front of their tv, computer or PSP, etc. to waste their time. Give me a break, Dr. Barros, saying that the poor live in bad neighborhoods and can't play outside. There are backyards and front yards to play. Kids in school are not learning because many parents leave it to the schools to do the job the parents used to do at home. Poor excuses!
Re: harrybalsac – #3, HEEEHAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!
Re: Tappi TÃ!!!SEMICOLON!!!karrass – He is,I was speaking of the tards that follow us around like lost puppies cuz they have no lives.
I absolutely agree with this article. Kids are being suffocated with the amount of work they are doing. I was in elementary school just 9 years ago and i remember it. Now i talk to the kids i babysit and they do three times the amount of work i did, kids aren't allowed to be kids anymore. And they can't just play when they get home because the have HOMEWORK in case you don't remember what that's life. And they need to play and be social with other kids
When I was in school in the 70s and 80s, we didn't have nearly the amount of homework these kids have nowadays. I have 1 kid in high school and the other just graduated. With the amount of homework they are/were given, you would think they were going to school to be doctors, lawyers, scientists, etc.
There's no recess and gym class once a week at my daughters elementary school which consists of not much more than walking around a small track!!! No wonder there's an obesity problem with children nowadays!!!
man, fuck the no child left behind standard. we didn't have that bullshit in place when i was a kid and we had 2-3 recesses a day PLUS we had art classes and music. even if it was raining outside we had closets full of games and toys to play with. i'm fucking sick of the way the public school system has just bent over backward to make sure they meet their standards. if Barack doesn't fix this bullshit i'll be sending my (future) kids to private school.
The idea is to create more controls over just how much homework the kids get. For example, a first grader should have only 10 minutes, second grader should have 20 minutes… and so on. You don't need to been in 5th grade and bogged down with two and a half hours of homework a night. Kids have to get out of the house and play (not sit in front of the TV and computer, parents are responsible for that) and they have some obligation to contribute to the family, as in set the table or make their own beds… you know what I mean. Also, social skills are needing development in a society that is relying more and more on communication via text and internet sites. Play, kids! All work and not play makes… well, it sure makes ME grumpy!!
DUHH. Kids need to run off their energy, its rediculous to think that kids will be fine sitting for 8 hours straight. They will get bored and unruly. And good luck teaching with kids acting up. Kids are being dragged into school at younger ages and bogged down with hours of homework every night and a good workload for the weekend. This is retarded trying to "keep up" with Sweden, Japan and other countries, the government is only hurting our children by forcing them to sit in lecture for 8 hours a day and on top of that 2 to 3 hours of homework a night. Good luck with all that!
Um… DUH?
It's not just the elementary kids that are getting screwed over (most kids in kindergarten don't even get nap time anymore - wtf?). The public school system is adding more and more work and requirements for one to graduate, and there's only so much time in the day. Their solution to meeting these requirements? Add on another class period, cut class times, lengthen the school day, and cut time from our lunch and between classes. If you're in high school and take advanced classes, you can say goodbye to your life.
I'm a first grade teacher in NYC. The amount of testing we do is absurd as are the standards that the children are forced to meet. They need time to mature and grow, if they don't do so with in a short period of time then they are held over. It is sickening.
I WISH EVERYONE WOULD GET ON BOARD AND FIGHT AGAINST THE HORRIBLE AFFECTS OF NCLB. IT IS TURNING OUR KIDS INTO PEOPLE MEANT ONLY TO FOLLOW ORDERS AND TAKE DIRECTION. THIS IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF HOW OUR KIDS ARE NOT BEING ALLOWED TO BE KIDS BUT TEST TAKING MACHINES! PAY ATTENTION AMERICA. WE ARE CREATING A GENERATION OF PEOPLE WHO WON'T BE ABLE TO LEAD US ANYWHERE.
It's interesting to note that as US schools cut recess and play time, their world ranking in education goes down. I also think that the starting times are way too early. Why do kids need to start school at 7.30am? Especially teenagers, whose body clocks are totally different. Most of our high schools start at 8.30am, and primary (elementary) schools start about 9am, and we are a lot higher up the rankings than the US. Time for some changes.