Educating the Whole Child

When you ask kids about their favorite subject in school, one of the most popular answers (after lunch) are "recess" and "gym". Why is that?

Kids seem to inherently know they need some physical exercise. They know they feel better when they get to move around. Brain and body breaks aside, kids need to exercise.So why is it that in the current educational culture, recess and gym are given the short straw? This school year, my students were allotted 10 minutes (including travel time) recess time and 50 minutes of gym instruction.  I'm sure they run (!) right home and go outdoors to play after school - not.From my perspective, childhood obesity is not just some sad story on the evening news. It is real. And we need to start by allowing students more time to get out there and move.