Over the years, kindergarten has become less play oriented and more academically focused. While some believe that this is good for the students because they will be learning more and will be more prepared for 1st grade, others believe that the play time they are eliminated is doing more harm than good. In the essay, “Kindergartners get little time to play. Why does it matter?”, Christopher Brown believes that by eliminating this play time, the students are missing out on chances to grow not only academically but also socially and emotionally. Brown states, “Giving children a chance to play and engage in hands-on learning activities helps them internalize new information as well as compare and contrast what they’re learning with what they already …show more content…
Another essay with similar ideas to Brown’s is “What happened to kindergarten?”, by Jen Curwood. In this essay Curwood relates the curriculum of kindergarteners today compared to kindergarteners from years in the past. She acknowledges this change in academics and states, “Indeed, just a decade ago, only 15 percent of kindergartners were readers. If we go back 30 years, the number shrinks to only 5 percent.” She believes that this increase in curriculum is making it hard for students to learn about academics, as well as make time for learning about people and the world around them. Curwood also brings up how technology has affected kids over the years. She states, “A 2003 study from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that children under 6 spend as much time with television, computers, and video games as playing outside.” This means that even at home children are not getting as much playtime as they should be. She relates this information back to the argument and believes that this lack of playtime at home increases the need for playtime in schools. Curwood shows similar views to Brown but provides more examples why play time is needed in this day and age particularly. I agree with her stance because over the years with technology advancing, it is getting more and more difficult for kids to use their imagination to problem solve. Which makes a student’s ability to sit down and learn that much …show more content…
When I was in kindergarten we were allowed three recesses. This seems like a lot compared to today's students who are only allowed one fifteen-minute recess. During my recesses I do not remember focusing on academics. I was usually playing with friends and working on problem solving without even realising it. Most of the time we would play two hand touch football. At first glance this does not seem very academic, and to be fair it wasn’t exactly. I was not learning academically but I was learning in other areas. Playing sports is a great way to build teamwork, as well as learning how to work together to solve problems. In the classroom I was learning how to solve math problems by myself, which was not giving me a chance to try and solve problems with my peers. This playtime gave me the chance to work with friends and build relationships, which is hard to do in only 15 minutes. So, while I believed that I was giving my brain a break from learning, I was actually still learning in different areas. My experience with recess leads me to believe that allowing playtime throughout the day is not only a good thing for learning academically, but is also very important because it gives the students a chance to work on other areas of development that are usually brushed over in school
Leong was featured in the May 2003 issue of the NAEYC’s Young Children. The article explores the conflict between children's play and meeting academic standards; more frequently, teachers are forced to limit playtime in order to teach essential skills to students; however because of limited imaginary play, increased academic demands of young children, and more realistic toys, children are almost unable to imagine. Although play has been proven to benefit children’s cognitive and social development, administrators do not consider it to be an important aspect of young children’s education. Because of this, preschool and kindergarten teachers are put in a challenging predicament; in order to compensate for children’s lack of play, teachers would need to prioritize play development at the level in which they prioritize phonics awareness and fine motor skills development. Although it is difficult to do, it is not impossible to incorporate play into the curriculum. Teachers can facilitate mature play by providing multi purpose props, encouraging children to create their own props, and allowing time for children to plan their roles and scenarios for dramatic play. In addition to play helping children develop foundational skills and concepts necessary to master math and reading, it has been shown to increase classroom cooperation, the effectiveness of instructional time, and the number of friendships developed in the
Early Childhood is marked by a time in children’s lives when they develop “a confident self-image, more effective control over their emotions, new social skills, the foundations of morality, and a clear sense of themselves as boy or girl” (Berk, Kauffman & Landrum, 2011, pg. 45). According to Erik Erikson, early childhood is a period of “vigorous unfolding,” one where children have a sense of autonomy and a new sense of purposefulness or initiative (Berk, Kauffman & Landrum, 2011, pg. 45). Play is a means for children to learn about themselves and they begin to adopt the moral and gender-role standards of the society in which they live (Berk, Kauffman & Landrum, 2011). A negative outcome of early childhood is the guilt children feel as a result of excessive punishment and criticism by the adults in their lives (Berk, Kauffman & Landrum, 2011)....
Many theorists have tried to define play as a concept, however, no two agree on a set definition. Their backgrounds and induvial lifestyles influence the way they see the importance of play. Reed and Brown also believe that there isn’t an agreed definition of play because is something that is felt rather than done (Reed & Brown, 2000 cited in Brock, Dodd’s, Jarvis & Olusoga, 2009). In spite of this, it is clear that most theorists uphold the ethos that play is imperative to a child’s learning and development. There is a wide range of different studies and theories which helps us develop our own perception of what play is. In my personal experience I have found play to be a way of expressive our emotions, exploring and learning new things, thus
In the “The Crucial Role of Recess in School” (2012) article it explains, many schools are beginning to replace physical activity, like recess, with more attention to academic subjects. What these schools are forgetting is that well-supervised recess also has benefits that surpass academics. They help make a well rounded student because recess offers cognitive, social, emotional, and physical benefits to the student when they are young that they carry with them into adulthood.
In her Huffington Post blog article titled Here’s One Way to Wreck a Child’s Education: Take Away Recess, Haley Krischer takes an emboldened stand against the practice of eliminating recess; which is often done as a punishment or to make more time for instructional learning. I stand in agreement with Krischer. I do not agree with schools taking away recess for any reason with the exception of dangerous weather or environmental circumstances. Yet, research indicates how common the 86-ing of recess is occurring in schools. A study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2010) revealed 77% of school Principals reported taking away recess as a punishment, and 81.5% of schools allow students to be excluded from recess. Krischer begins the article by introducing her 9 year old son and his affinity for recess: “the only subject he will talk about”. She gives examples of how recess benefits her son such as other students who help him troubleshoot technology issues and challenging him to improve his sports skills. Indeed, the unstructured playtime allows children to explore their environment and develop new ideas and understandings of it and those within it (American Pediatric Association, 2013). Kischer also expressed that children need active play to combat restlessness and that this is especially important for children who may suffer from ADHD, noting that taking away recess as a punishment for misbehavior may be counterproductive and result in increased behavioral problems. A longitudinal study that followed over 10,000 students between the ages of 8 and 9 concluded that student recess of at least 15 minutes resulted in better behavior as rated by teachers (Samuels, 2009).
The article “Recess helps kids learn better in school” from The American Heart Association states, “After recess… students are more attentive and better able to perform cognitively.” This helps so kids can gain more information later in the day without having to feel like they are ramming a bunch of information into their heads at once. Recess allows a little break to let the information settle and for kids to relax a little. To add to this, recess makes kids “...more alert and able to maintain focus on the topic at hand.”, according to Kits: “5 Reasons Why Recess Helps Learning”. This increases kids’ attention span so they can learn more information later in the day. With this, kids are able to digest that information correctly instead of not comprehending the information at all. Thus, recess makes room for more information to be
Even though these problems exist, recess still has its positive aspects. " A daily break of 15 minutes or more in the school day may play a role in improving learning, social development, and health in elementary school children" (Albert Einstein School of Medicine).... ... middle of paper ...
An Article by Dr. Leong and Dr. Bodrova (2016) stated that play is beneficial to children’s learning especially when it reaches a certain degree of complexity. When they engage in play activities most of their early years, they learn to delay gratification and to prioritize their goals and actions. They also learn to consider the perspectives and needs of other people and to represent things significantly to regulate their behavior and actions in a cautious, intentional way.
...ctive. Play is an essential learning tool and one that must not be ignored within the classroom. It is a catalyst to help children develop socially, emotionally, physically and cognitively. It is not only an important part of a child’s development as a pupil but also a child’s development as an individual.
Studies have shown that kids who didn't have recess, instead of being refreshed and ready to learn, were brain-drained, as they have lost out on the opportunity to regain the energy needed for focus. (Barros) Many people believe that recess was a waste of time and that it should be taken away in high school, but without it students become brain-drained and do not have focus towards school. This means that recess is not a waste of time, as it makes students have more energy towards school, but makes class a waste of time for teachers. Many students that I encounter before going to the last class of the day or any class say things like “My brain is done working for the day”, “I just need a break”, “ I just want to go play a game”, or “I am tired of sitting all day.” Rarely do students get to go outside and play a game or go for a walk during the day or class, but on the days that they do, after the time outside or playing a physically active game, the students were more focused throughout the
..., J., & Garzoli, E. (2007, November 11). The Effectiveness of a Play-Based Curriculum in Early Childhood Education. Retrieved from http://teachplaybasedlearning.com/8.html
However, despite the unquestionable link to a brighter future for the children who engage in it, less and less time is being allotted for play in the classrooms. As standards for what children are expected to know at younger and younger ages continues to rise along with the demand for standardized testing from the state, time for play is being sacrificed. Adults are choosing to get rid of time for unstructured play and recess to make time for this new testing interfering with the time allotted for children to learn independently through play. Cutting play and recess is a mistake, and here is why: “recess gives students time for social interactions: for students must be able to initiate, negotiate, cooperate, share, and build relationships with one another--skills that are highly valued in the adult world but that often are quite different from work or play under adult supervision and control” (Chang). Those skills learned through play, are often not the sole purpose of a classroom lesson and could potentially be the only place they learn those needed skills. Play is an affective measurement in the classroom as well as outside of the classroom and children can learn so much from it if only given the chance
Thinking back on my childhood, I first remember all the times I played outside in my backyard. I would pretend to dig up dinosaur bones or create imaginary realms of ancient lands; there I would perform diplomatic services for the people in need. I was usually alone, and those are some of my fondest memories. When I first decided to become a teacher and thought about what is important to my philosophy on how children learn, I immediately knew I was a strong believer in play. Although, many decision makers such as legislators and school district leaders believe in more academic types of learning styles, my paper will discuss why play is so powerful and important to children.
The first three articles that were read for this review discuss the great importance of recess in a student’s life. There are many benefits of recess for students, but there are even more added benefits to a structures recess for students. The Crucial Role of Recess in School an article from the American Academy of Pediatrics states that recess serves as a necessary break from the rigors of concentrated, academic challenges in the classroom (2012). Equally important is the fact that safe and well-supervised recess offer cognitive, social, emotional, and physical benefits. “After recess, for children or after a corresponding break time for adolescents, students are more attentive and better able to perform cognitively” (The Crucial Role
In Kindergarten school, some parent believes play is the best way for young children to learn the conceptions, skills, and set a solid foundation for later school and life success. In the other hand, many parents disagree and believe play is a waste of time, messy, noisy, and uneducationall. I believe play is not waste of time, but it something worth to fight for, in this presentation I would show parent the main importance of some of the numerous kinds of play, and why play is a fundamental basis for improving children’s ability to succeed in school and life.