Why has Play Become a Four Letter Word?

It makes sense to examine the number one ranked educational system in the world and compare it to the one in which our children are being educated.  The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has shown that Finland ranks in the top or near the top on every survey since 2000 (Partanen, 2011).  There are definitely many differences that can be observed against the American system.  These include but are not limited to the facts that Finnish students take only one standardized test in their academic careers, and that Finnish students get 15 minutes of unstructured recess time for every 45 minutes of academic time (Walker, 2014).  For the purposes of this post, I am going to hone in on the recess time.

Here in the U.S. we have been systematically reducing time for children to be physically active in school.  Due to budget cuts, as well as the ill conceived notion that we need more time for academics, many districts across the nation have reduced time for physical education.

Here in my state of Wisconsin, most districts only provide 30 minutes of physical education class two times per week.  However, at least we have the benefit of having physical education taught by licensed physical education teachers.  Many students in California are not so fortunate.  There, many classroom teachers, must also teach physical education (Adams, 2015).

Another item lost, since my days of being an elementary student, is recess time. The minutes for recess have been shortened and in many cases, entire recess sessions have been eliminated in order to allow for more academic time in the classroom.  What these policy makers fail to account for is that these choices, according to research, have a detrimental effect on learning rather than increasing learning.  Chaddock et. al. (2011) shared that studies show a link between aerobic fitness and higher levels of cognition, as well as differences in brain structure. Additionally, they share that cognition can even be predicted over time through aerobic fitness level.

These thoughts led me to have a conversation with one of my colleagues. Unlike me, she has had over 20 years teaching in the classroom, and I was interested to hear her insights she has garnered through her experiences as a first and second grade teacher.  She agrees that children are not only not getting nearly enough recess time, but feels they are being pushed too hard, too fast.  She pointed out to me that Scandinavian countries (lauded for their effectiveness) don't even begin teaching students to read until they are seven years old. Meanwhile, over here, we are now providing kindergarten reading instruction; in some cases even in four year old kindergarten.  She also explained that classroom instruction has taken a dramatic shift, especially in the last 10 years. S. Evolsir, personal communication,  October 30, 2015 stated, "Learning used to be a great deal of fun for kids; we did much learning through projects and play.  There is no time for that anymore.  We have too many Common Core State Standards (CCSS) to fit in each day.  Everything is rushed, and kids are more stressed.

They need more time to play, and more time to learn through play, and through the use of all their senses. These kids also do not have enough time to break away from the classroom (through recess) to interact and learn through their friends the important social and emotional skills they need."

With the pummeling that education has taken in the public eye and the media in recent years, administrators and legislators have many tough decisions to make.  However, ultimately, we should all be advocating for the children.  Finland, as well as many research studies, have proven that kids need to be moving.  They need their recesses and physical education classes back.  It is time to turn to the experts rather than just simply "pushing" students harder and thinking that will somehow get us better results.  We can achieve more (results) with less (time), if we start giving kids what they need - time to play.

I would love to hear your thoughts on my title question.

References:

Adams, J. M. (2015, February 1). Lawsuit agreement to force schools to provide physical education. Retrieved from http://edsource.org/2015/lawsuit-agreement-to-force-schools-to-provide-physical-education/73544

Chaddock, L., Pontifex, M. B., Hillman, C. H., & Kramer, A. F. (2011). A review of the relation of aerobic fitness and physical activity to brain structure and function in children. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 17, 1-11. doi:10.1017/S1355617711000567

Kids Sports. [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://kidssports.com.au/newsite/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/kids-play-ftr.jpg

More4kids/Psychology Today. (n.d.). Stressed-out-child [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.more4kids.info/uploads/Image/Aug/stressed-out-child.jpg

Partanen, A. (2011, December 29). What Americans Keep Ignoring About Finland's School Success - The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/12/what-americans-keep-ignoring-about-finlands-school-success/250564/

Walker, T. (2014, June 30). How finland keeps kids focused through free play - The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/06/how-finland-keeps-kids-focused/373544/