I Believe
I believe in Recess. Recess is a time that kids need to unwind from the stress that comes with school. It’s a time to get fresh air and exercise without any pressure. We live in a very high strung community, where people are constantly rushing to get things done. I think that it’s a healthy idea to stop what you’re doing at least once during the day, and rest. Whether that means sitting and talking with friends, or taking a nap, you choose, but either way, it’s important.
Before I moved to Chicago, I went to a small elementary school in North Carolina, where each day, I sat on the edge of my seat waiting for my teacher to line up our class and lead us to the playground adjacent to the school. I had so much energy when I was little, and it would all come out during recess. It wasn’t like I had a tough first grade schedule, but school was school, and I had expectations that were sometimes hard to meet.
At LT, we obviously don’t have recess, but I’m still thankful for the short breaks we get every once in a while. Lunch is probably the closest thing we have to recess, but it still not the same. I guarantee most people have had to do homework during lunch at least once. There’s also gym class but that doesn’t count either, because we still get homework and have tests, which I think are pretty unnecessary, but that’s not the point. The point is that there’s really no time in our school day for a break. It’s pretty much seven hours of go, go, go without a chance to breathe. And after that it’s sports or clubs, and then homework. There’s no break, and that’s not good.
I might sound like I’m criticizing our school system, but I’m not. It’s fine, though nonetheless a lot for us to handle, and it would be easier to handle if we had recess. Just a half an hour of sitting outside with friends, doing whatever. But I guess it’s not up to me. The best thing I can do to get a break during school is to sleep in class, but that wouldn’t be being an active listener, so all I’m going to say is, I believe in Recess.