Personal Narrative-Time In Elementary School

My elementary school, while wonderful, fell very short in one area: recess. Despite the numerous snow hills that accumulated in the cold Minnesota winters, games like King-of-the-Hill were forbidden, sleds were apparently made to be pulled, not ridden down hills, and you’d be forced to sit on the bench as punishment if you so much as dared to throw a snowball. I know, looking back, that the teachers supervising weren’t trying to limit our fun, they were just trying to keep us – and those around us- safe. However, as a free-spirited child who loved to explore, recess left a lot to be desired. Many days, my friends and I even opted to stay inside and knit so we wouldn’t have to go outside and stand around, bored. At home, I was lucky enough to

The type of play being fostered is extremely important, as is the amount of time spent playing. A fifteen-minute time period isn’t enough to get kids invested and creating. As Kappan states, “Children need extended free time so they can ‘get into it,’ to create their own games, and to build, construct, and connect with each other.” He recognizes how Finland, which “boasts the longest recess of any country in the world”, is highly celebrated for its youths’ performance on international tests. Kappan also mentions how some schools have shown that doing away with playground rules entirely can actually decrease injuries and lessen bullying. Lessons learned from experience are often much better retained than those taught only from an adult. Opponents to relatively unsupervised recess and playtime may claim that the children will end up hurting themselves and others if they are not properly policed. However, the idea is not to let the children get into dangerous situations – there should always be supervisors on hand to recognize when children could get themselves into harm’s way and to stop it before it happens. As Kappan describes, “The play workers make it safe for children to take