Recess is the highlight of many children’s days at school. It provides a much-needed break for their brains and allows them to socialize with their peers while using some of their bottled-up energy. Sometimes, teachers become frustrated with young students and use recess as an incentive to behave and get work done. The practice of withholding recess as punishment should be stopped completely because it can damage relationships between teachers and students, it is unfairly used on students with neurodivergence, and recess has proven benefits. For many students, the bond formed with teachers creates a great support system that helps children feel like they know more adults they can trust. When teachers begin using punishments that isolate students, that bond is broken. One example…show more content… Withholding recess is one practice in this category, along with silent lunches and making children sit in the hallway. As such, many students with behavioral problems or who are neurodivergent often receive shadow discipline quite often. Another parent, Maren Christenson Hofer, said her son with autism had recess withheld several times in kindergarten. Kindergarten is a stage of life when children should be learning how to create friendships and socialize, so taking away recess seems counterintuitive, especially to a child with autism. In contrast to taking away a recess, providing at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day has many proven benefits. Jackie Mader of The Hechinger Report states “Children are more attentive and productive and perform better cognitively after recess. Time for free play helps kids develop social and communication skills.” On top of that information, Rebecca London, an associate professor of sociology, states that “Play is how kids learn. It’s their social time, emotional time, physical activity time, time to connect with other children, their time to be imaginative”
