Do you remember what it was like having recess every day? Spending the whole time waiting in line for the monkey bars? The fear of falling to the ground when your friend got off of the see-saw before you? The dizziness you felt when the tier swing was pushed just a little too hard? Recess is something that almost every kid in America has experienced at some point in their life. The only problem is that you don’t experience it past sixth grade. 

A study of the effects of prolonged sitting for children showed that many children in the United States spend over 60% of their day sitting. This constant sitting can have major impacts on the health and well-being of a child, including a 33% decrease in vascular function in young women.

When elementary school children misbehave, a common punishment is not getting recess. High schoolers receive the same punishment for a crime that no one can prevent, growing up. It makes sense. Studying gets more important as you get older. It becomes such a priority that break time gets limited to half an hour at lunch and a few minutes here and there for passing period. It’s no wonder so many students would rather play games or watch videos than work. It’s not just students who need breaks. While movie days and free time are a treat for students, teachers can also get overwhelmed with the work and responsibility that comes with high school. 

An episode of “Wow in the World,” a science-based podcast directed towards children, titled “Recess 101,” talks about recess’s educational values. Having a break during the day allows students to focus better on their school work, making them more likely to pay attention and complete their assignments on time.

Teenagers don’t need a playground. Swings, slides, and merry-go-rounds, while the source of fun memories from childhood, are things of the past. That being said, recess is not a definite thing. It can age like fine wine, or similar to school or students, it can change with time. High school recess might look like more Impact classes, free time or games. It might look like clubs or cliques hanging out, doing projects and making decisions. It could be anything you wanted, with just a little imagination. It would be relatively simple to fit it in. If we changed the schedule to be like the Impact schedule, that would give us an extra half hour every day. 

In the United States, almost no high schools have recess. Implementing recess would not only make students more motivated and smarter. It would also make history.