Free Choice Outside Learning Time (FCOLT)

“Recess is the right of every child. Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on Children’s Rights states that every child has the right to leisure time. Taking away recess, whether as a disciplinary measure or abolishing it in the name of work, infringes on that right.”

While adults can better inhibit their needs to move and socialize during work hours, it is difficult for children to do so. The child is a natural mover, doer and shaker. It is natural that a child who must tolerate repeated periods of “seat work” will feel mental fatigue and restlessness. Yet we all too often force children through stretches of time and tedium that would tax many adults. (Pellegrini and Davis)

Prolonged confinement of children in elementary classrooms has been found to result in a high probability of fidgeting, restlessness, and subsequent reduction in concentration. (Pellegrini and Davis)

The available research suggests that recess can play an important role in the learning, social development, and health of elementary school children. (Jarrett)

Experimental research on memory and attention found that recall is improved when learning is spaced rather than presented all at once. Their findings are compatible with what is known about brain function: that attention requires periodic novelty, that the brain needs downtime to recycle chemicals crucial for long term memory formation, and that attention involves 90 to 110-minute cyclical patterns throughout the day. (Jenson)

Teaching more doesn’t mean children learn more. The Education Digest

According to NASPE ( The National Association for Sport and Physical Education) extended periods of inactivity are not developmentally appropriate for children.

At recess the playground becomes one of the few places where children can actually define and enforce meaningful social interaction during the day. Without recess, the children lose an important educational experience. (Pellegrini and Glickman)

Game playing can occur in the classroom as well as on the playground; however, …game playing in the classroom is typically in a “closed setting” where the children cannot withdraw from the game. Outside recess provides a more “open setting” where children are free to leave the play situation. In open settings, children must learn to resolve conflicts to keep the game going, resulting in low levels of aggression on the playground. (Hartup and Laursen)

There are some activities that simply cannot take place in a classroom. The nature of these games requires an open setting which can only be found outside.

An example is the common playground game, “chase.” It has been linked to academic success. According to Pellegrini and Glickman, “Children learn to cooperate to the extent that the play requires cooperation and they learn to solve problems in such forms of play. They realize that in order to sustain their chase play with peers, they must take turns being the chaser or the chased. If they refuse to change roles, the game ends. This reciprocating role is a powerful predictor of the ability to cooperate and view events from different perspectives.

According to NAECS (National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education), the following are a few reasons why school administrators should carefully consider the benefits of outdoor play before eliminating recess from their curriculum:

1. Play is an active form of learning that unites the mind, body, and spirit. Until at least the age of nine, children’s learning occurs best when the whole self is involved.

2. Play reduces the tension that often occurs with having to achieve or needing to learn. In play, adults do not interfere and children relax.

3. Children express and work out emotional aspects of everyday experiences through unstructured play.

4. Children permitted to play freely with peers develop skills for seeing things through another person’s point of view—cooperating, helping, sharing, and solving problems.

5. The development of children’s perceptual abilities may suffer when so much of their experience is through television, computers, books, worksheets, and media that require only two senses. The senses of smell, touch, and taste, and the sense of motion through space are powerful modes of learning.

6. Children who are less restricted in their access to the outdoors gain competence in moving through the larger world. Developmentally, they should gain the ability to navigate their immediate environs (in safety) and lay the foundation for the courage that will enable them to eventually lead their own lives.

Classroom Benefits of FCOLT A study conducted by Olga Jarrett, a professor of child development found that not having recess affects academic performance. The study found children who do not have recess are much more fidgety in the classroom. The study also found that the time spent fidgeting and being mentally distracted adds up to the amount of time it takes to have recess in the first place. Studies show children are more attentive after recess with hyperactive children benefiting the most.

What you can learn by watching children play Identify which child is being isolated by their peers Identify bullies Identify strengths not visible in the classroom Identify deficiencies in gross motor skills Identify leaders and followers

The National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education takes the position that recess is an essential component of education and that preschool and elementary school children must have the opportunity to participate in regular periods of active, free play.

The results of spending one-third of the school day in formal and less formal physical education, in art, and in music were increased fitness, improved attitudes, and slight improvements in test scores. These results are consistent with the findings of a meta-analysis of nearly 200 studies on the effect on cognitive functioning that suggest that physical activity supports learning.

Amended Proposal We are proposing an administrative procedure that will provide teachers with the option of participating in 15 consecutive minutes of Free Choice Outside Learning Time (not to include restroom breaks).

We also suggest that each campus create a recess committee to identify safe, appropriate areas for children to play and to help coordinate recess schedules.

If playgrounds are not available at a campus, recess committees can evaluate other options for FCOLT: *Cafeteria *Sidewalks *Gym (when not in use) *Stage areas *A safe, outside area where children can move freely.