Privatizing Recess: Micromanaging Children’s Play for Profit
You might hear that school recess is returning, but it might not be the recess we have come to know and love, and miss. It is not run by the school, but by a nonprofit called “Playworks: Play and Recess to Support Emotional Learning.” I have written about social and emotional learning before. Many are worried about those words and what they mean for children and schools.
Playworks isn’t recess. It isn’t a period of time where children can play on their own and dream. It’s privatized Phys. Ed. Those who understand recess will recognize quickly that coaching students on games chosen by adults, and how to act, is not recess. Often referring to the “power of play,” Playworks is not the kind of play which develops cognitive skills and empowers children.
For the record, P.E. is important on its own, but it is often mistaken for recess by those who don’t have a clue what recess involves. Sometimes principals will justify not having recess because children get P.E. However, P.E. is in trouble in a lot of places too. And if I were an elementary or middle school P.E. teacher, I’d be nervous if my school or Privatizing Recess: Micromanaging Children’s Play for Profit:
