Grandma's House

I think the Tacoma, Washington school board should be replaced immediately. They have determined that elementary school children should not have recess, except for a few minutes after lunch

."If we want students learning to high standards, we need them in the classroom, not the playground," Karyn Clarke, assistant superintendent for elementary schools, said this week.

Has Ms. Clarke lost her mind? No recess at all?

Elementary students regularly move from one activity to the next within the classroom and the school, Clarke noted. And they have PE class to address obesity concerns. It's fine for children to have a brief break on a particular day because they are restless or sluggish, Clarke told the newspaper - but it's not supposed to be a daily occurrence.

Where did she go to grade school? We had a recess in the morning, about 15 minutes after lunch, and again in the afternoon. Our collective grades were quite probably higher than they are now. Administrators don't want kids to enjoy childhood anymore, but kids have to be kids. Locking them in a room for hours upon hours is no doubt behind the increase in the number of children who are being classified with ADD. My attention would wander, too, if I were trapped like a rat. Would Ms. Clarke feel this way if she were in one of those classrooms day after day, watching the children lose their love of learning? I think not.