Do you think recess is worth it?

“It doesn’t help me in any way.” “I enjoy it because it’s just a way to get fresh air and to see my friends”. The opinions of students and teachers at Frost Middle School are very different when it comes to recess. These vastly different opinions can pose a question on whether or not recess is needed.

 When school started this year, there were many rules put in place for students and teachers by the Fairfax County School Board. One of these rules was the recess policy, which made everyone in Fairfax County Public Schools have to put recess into their schedules for at least 15 minutes.

FCPS made this policy because of the positive effects recess seems to have. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention said that “recess helps students by providing an outlet for physical activity, reducing disruptive behavior, and improving memory attention, and social skills.” However, many here at Frost Middle School, one of the schools affected by the policy, have mixed feelings about having recess everyday.

Some of the students and teachers believe that the policy introduced is not helpful for them at school. Mrs. Balduf, an English teacher, had mixed feelings about the recess policy. “I like how recess allows kids to decompress without having a screen, and be able to move around a lot,” she said. 

However, she “wishes there could be more flexibility for the policy, so you can choose whether or not you have to go outside.” She, among others, doesn’t like when you have to go outside in extreme weather. 

Many people can agree with Mrs. Balduf here at Frost, with a recent poll saying that %40 of students think that recess is more of a pain than a positive experience. “I honestly think recess is a waste of time. We should be using our time to study and catch up in other classes, so we don’t fail. We’re basically wasting our time on doing nothing” said a student in the poll.

However, some students and teachers think recess is worth it. Mrs. Champagne, who teaches Journalism and Creative Writing, thinks that recess “is awesome”. “Recess can give so many students a break and have them talk and meet new people,” she said. 

A lot of students agree that recess should be kept as a policy, with 60% agreeing that recess is worth it. “I don’t really mind recess actually. I don’t mind if they keep it or dropped it, but it’s alright.” commented an anonymous student on the poll. These polls were responded by selective people at our school, and more 7th graders responded than 8th graders, so opinions on recess could be different for the entire school.

Overall, this recess policy does not seem to be new, with FCPS officials claiming that the policy is just becoming a part of schools health and wellness policy. We now know that recess is a debated topic that is whether your a 8th grader, or a 7th grader. 

These charts from a poll sent to students show their opinions on whether or not they want recess as a policy, and whether they like outdoor recess better than indoor recess.