Great article from nytimes.com about how important it is for kids to be able to play and be kids. In this age of “No Child Left Behind” where I have heard of FIRST GRADERS having hours of homework and vocabulary lists stretching a full page, we can’t forget that these are just kids. And sometimes kids need to be kids:
“…The best way to improve children’s performance in the classroom may be to take them out of it.
New research suggests that play and down time may be as important to a child’s academic experience as reading, science and math, and that regular recess, fitness or nature time can influence behavior, concentration and even grades…”
Click HERE for the full article
2 responses so far ↓
David // March 26, 2009 at 7:56 pm
Interesting article. It all makes intuitive sense, but it seems that we need the pendulum to swing too far to one side to let us know what we and our little ones are missing.
Andrea // May 9, 2009 at 11:35 pm
Recently read this article as it was passed around by my colleagues. Hope this particular line stuck with them: “Also, teachers often punish children by taking away recess privileges. That strikes Dr. Barros as illogical.”
In my opinion it’s idiotic. I say play away.
PS. First time reading the blog.