by David Safier
Regular BfA reader and commenter Steve Gall is, for lack of a better term, a recess freak. He worked on legislation to make recess mandatory in elementary schools in Arizona that came close to passing in the 2008 session (I think I've got that right). But he's not just a talker. He puts his body, and his time, where his mouth is.
A few days ago, Steve told me he volunteered at Dunham Elementary School three days a week for the entire school year, from 8:00 to 10:30am, "teaching organized recess."
"I work with K-5 and the teachers have told me that the kids are more focused and ready to work after the recess period. In fact, attendance is nearly 100% when I come."
In a totally unscientific study, Steve mentioned that the AIMS scores of the kids he worked with improved, more, he thinks, than the average state improvement. I'm going to make the naive assumption that the increased, focused exercise made a difference in the classroom. I'm certain, test score increases or not, it was good for the kids.
Mariana sent me a few links to studies: Vigorous Physical Activity Linked To Better Grades (Medical News Today); and Study Finds Link Between Physical Activity and Enhanced Academic Performance (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation).
According to Steve:
Discover more from Blog for Arizona
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.