TO RECESS OR NOT

Thank you for the tremendous amount of feedback regarding the question of lunch/recess time at the middle school or junior high level. Attached are the comments that were made. It appears from the responses, that many do provide something other than just waiting in the cafeteria with any remaining time from their lunch. Some mentions space, availability, and overall schedule necessities.

I think our solution at this point will be to make sure activities are limited. I have had lunch duty (2 lunches @ 30 minutes each) since I arrived (this is my 3rd year) and I have one teacher (usually least tenured) to help out. I take cafeteria, they take the activity once lunch is over. Right now, since we are inside due to the weather, we do an "odd days boys have the gym and even days the girls have it" type of setup.

I am sure I will change my mind over and over on this one, but at this point we will keep it that way...but at least I have many of your comments to show that it is not a middle school student right to have recess (as many parents have indicated when I have hinted at a change in this).

Again, thanks for the responses.

We are a PreK-8 grade school. Our middle school students only have 30 minutes as you stated (however, our elementary has 45). We do have a "recess" time within those 30 minutes. We find that they spend more of their time during this time than eating. We did have 45 minutes and noticed a lot more physical alternations and fights. They do not have P.E. everyday, so they need that time to get the fresh air and socialize as middle school students do best!

We have the exact same situation that you are currently in and we love it. 15 minute lunch with 15 minute recess. We give students the option of staying to "chit-chat" or go to recess. Kids do need that time to "vent" if we want to keep them focused in the classroom. We also have PE everyday but kids still need a chance for the "playground" atmosphere. Just my two cents....

I would agree kids that age need some recess time. Maybe you could look at how they are supervised or establish expectations for the down time. Getting rid of it because of the convenience would not be a good enough reason for me. We do too. For us, there is really no way around due to scheduling. Most of our problems occur when recess is inside.

We used to do the same half-eating, half-recess type of lunch a few years ago. As we grew in population, problems kept coming up during the recess time. We went to the idea of keeping kids in at the tables after lunch where they can talk, listen to music, work as long as they stay in their seats. Much better!

I was once principal of a middle school of 900. Every 25 minutes, a new lunch group entered and the other left -separate doors. Those leaving had 5 minutes to potty, have a smoke, get their books and get to class. I had to do this - I did have an adjacent area outside to the cafeteria where students could go on nice days - there were no balls, games of play - I had benches and picnic tables out there. Some kids ate and went out - some brought their lunch and went out - OK with us. Teachers always wanted longer lunches but no way - we had 6 lunch hours as it was due to lack of space. Yes - we had daily PE - no hassles from parents - are you sending your kid here for an education or recess?

The 7th and 8th grade students have not had recess for two years. I stopped it for my 6,7,and 8 graders this year. Just like you, they have PE everyday and recess was not being used for exercise anyway. My 6 and 7th graders go to the comp. lab everyday (recess supervisors watch them in there) and my 8th graders help in the lower grade classrooms as a service project. At Lincoln, the 7th and 8th graders go to special classes, such as art, band, etc. during that time. Hope this helps. I just could not see a reason for recess for them any longer. Believe it or not, I did not have one parent complain about it. I think that they didn't like the wasted recess time either.

We have had the recess at the end of lunch for many years here at the middle school. This year we combined in the same building with the high school. Many, many of my discipline issues in previous years were stemming from playground problems during that recess time. This year we don't have the area for recess so the kids stay in most days (when the weather is not perfect) and sit and talk. The problem is that these kids need to blow off steam and get fresh air so behavior is not much better in the cafeteria. In fact, I have a list of ten 8th grade students on my desk who decided today was a good day for a food fight. It seems the discipline issues surround lunch no matter if we stay in or go out. Good luck! Our Junior High students have about 5 minutes after they finish lunch to either sit on the bleachers or play in the gym. It seems to work out well, I see the kids just sitting on the bleachers and talking most of the time. It gives them a time to socialize and relax before returning for the afternoon classes.

When the weather is appropriate, I do allow for students to go outside for 10-15 minutes. I did have board games available in the cafeteria when the weather is bad and many of the kids trashed them. I spent more time organizing board game pieces than the kids did using them. Our lunch times are HUGE...and therefore noisy- I'd rather they go burn off some energy outside.

We have the same as you.

Several years ago we tried to do away with the JH recess. It did not work out very well...more discipline problems. We went back to having recess in one year per teacher request!

I have thought many times about the same thing. If I didn't have a recess I would probably have half of the discipline problems that I have now. Let me know about the results. It might help me push the SIP team and board to getting rid of recess.

We have a recess period for our 5 - 8 grade students every day. It is built in with their lunch. They get 47 minutes half of which is spent at each place. Our kids also have P.E. everyday. When I taught I was at a school set up much the same way except the lunch/recess time was a little bit shorter. We are a pre-k - 8 grade building. I have found that by being visible on the middle school side more after lunch has helped with deterring any problems. I am not saying that we do not have any physical behaviors at lunch time, but being visible at the end of lunch and a majority of the afternoon has helped to cut down on these problems (I am sure that I will have to deal with a fight either today or tomorrow now that I said that). I will say that my experience with having the kids just sit and talk or listen to music was not a good one. It was at a k - 6 building and we had them sit after lunch instead of taking a recess. The kids got into more trouble just sitting and talking than they did after we started having lunch and recess together. It wasn't so much the k - 3 students as it was the 4, 5, and 6 kids. Good luck with your decision. Our 7th and 8th graders have a 35 minute lunch period. No recess. After they eat (which takes a while because we have 200 in that lunch period)? They sit and talk at their tables. A few problems, but not many. We have pretty good supervision in there.

My junior high has a 30 minute lunch for each grade level. We have about 140 students per group so it takes awhile for them to go through the line, eat and take trays back. We also have ala carte so that helps if they are finished eating they will go back and buy something else small to eat. I believe at one time they had an extended lunch that included recess but we do not have that now and I would not want to do that. I would say your instincts are right and go for it...eliminates recess.

We DO NOT AND WILL NOT, ever go back to recess for MS. We got rid of it for the very reasons you mentioned. They have a full period of PE everyday....that's enough energy release time.

I'd be interested in the responses. We also have recess at the end of lunch. It is usually no problem, but as you say, sometimes it is. On days we can't get into the gym, I find the kids get really restless in the cafeteria. I've had some problems on those days, as well.

We currently have it. I inherited it. I am looking to eliminate this. It does provide us some space because our lunches overlap. That's fun too.

We have a thirty minute slot and the students get about 20 minutes to eat and then we go out side or in the gym. Students are allowed to bring work or a book to read and can stay in the whole time. On a regular day about 75% go out. On a cold day about half will go out. Students who stay in must remain seated. IPODs and the like are banned during school hours so they are not in the lunch room.

EJHS is a 6th, 7th and 8th grade building with about 120 students. We have a teacher and an aide on noon time duty plus I have detention duty. In the past we had issues with too much down time at lunch, as well. We made some changes to help counteract the behavior issues. During good weather our students have about 10-15 minutes outside where they have access to a volleyball net and outdoor basketball court. Most of the students, however; do prefer to talk and "wander". During the winter months we have noon hour challenges (by teams and everyone is assigned a team). This month it is a dodge ball tournament. Those who are not playing are watching in the gym. We have found that if we offer activities and choices we have fewer discipline problems. In the past couple of years, we added the volleyball and basketball outdoor options and even that little change helped. One other way we avoid behavior issues is that we have detention at lunch and those who are assigned serve detention first and then eat and so they do not get any time for activity. It is an incentive for students to stay out of trouble at lunch --and other times-- so they continue to have that time with their friends. Lunch detention also offers a place for quick removal of students who may act out during their "recess" and keeps some of the more repeat offenders out of the mix on a regular basis. As far as the "extra" time at lunch--it is more to offer staff a duty free lunch than to offer a recess for junior high students, but with planning it can be a more positive time for all. We have on occasion offered board games and do have a scrabble club and other extracurriculars that meet at lunch. Our bball coach, for example, often uses it as a time to review game film with his players. The fewer kids left to their own devices, the fewer problems we have. Good luck!

We have the same set up as you do with the lunch for 30 minutes and then they can have physical activity when they finish lunch. I have no behavior problems with this set up. The key is that I have very good people with supervision. The people that supervise plan some games with them which gives them some structure. We did find just sending them out with no direction was a problem.

We used to have a 42 minute lunch which was split half lunch, half outside time. It was full of the problems you mention. We changed our schedule and now have 30 min. lunch. Students remain seated in the cafeteria for the duration. They are not allowed to move around the area. They do have PE every day as well.

We have a 45 minute lunch/recess period. The recess period is usually about 20 minutes of the 45. During cold or rainy weather, we have no place for the students to play, so they just sit in the cafeteria or library. Some students seem to enjoy that about as much as the recess. Others really like to go outside better than staying inside.

If you are going to change your format, you could still call it recess, even though it will be conducted inside the building. You could also have different recreational sites. If you decide to stay in, I think you should provide some games, movies, music, or activities. Some students may not have the electronics you mentioned to bring to school.

Here at ____ Junior High, we do not have a recess, but sometimes during nice weather, we will take them out for about 10 minutes at the end of their lunch. Our 6th grade is an elementary and they do get a lunch recess. Our 7-12 have the option of staying in the cafeteria or going outside or in an empty gym. I believe they have a total of about 45 minutes for eating and "recess".

We have tried it both ways and found it was better to get them outside and moving. We are K - 8 though and it is harder to take up space in the lunch room. Ours is 20 minutes outside before lunch for all of our students. "Before" is the key here, kids do their down time during lunch.

We have a 40 minute lunch period. The first half is eating, the second half is outside "recess". I hate it as well! That is one of the worst times of the day for us. Unfortunately, we're locked into the time allotment per our teacher contract and other classes scheduled for the same time.

35 min lunch - 10-15 min free time - 6th grade mostly wants outside, but by 8th, they don't. We generally give them the option of staying in, but no MP3. Even with daily PE, I see going out being very beneficial for some boys.

We have recess everyday but that is because there is a 45 minute lunch period that feeds two separate groups (we have three lunch periods). We have to have a place for them to go while the other group eats. I have tried to change the situation but with 480 kids and a lunch room that holds maybe 90 there is no other way.

We stopped any recess with our 7th & 8th graders about 8 years ago. Has worked out real well. The students have time to socialize (we do not allow music devices - don't know what they are listening to) and we rarely have more than one physical confrontation among students a year. We do let the 6th graders go out. (We also use this time to meet with student council, etc. as well as lunch detentions - in a separate setting away from the regular lunch room.)

We have the same combination with the same problems as you do. If you hear of any good solutions let me know.

We have a 40 minute (20 minute lunch and 20 minute recess) lunch period for all kids’ grades 6-8. We have lots of structured activities and adult supervision. We have very few discipline problems- usually a bball game that gets a little too competitive!

We have a 40 minute lunch period for our 7th and 8th grades. One group eats for 20 minutes and then has "recess" for the next. We do this to efficiently utilize our cafeteria. We do have some problems at the recess time but they have slowed down since cold weather has come. The kids really just walk around or play basketball. We do not give them much choice of activities. We will continue because of the cafeteria.

Our middle school has a half hour lunch and does not get recess time. They are not even allowed to move from one table to another. Once they pick their seats, they must remain at that table except to get food, drinks, snacks, or use the restroom. We do not allow MP3 players in the middle school at all. It works well for the most part, but they do get quite loud by the end.

We have a 1/2 hour block for lunch. Eat 15 minute, recess 15 minutes at the 6th-8th grade level. It has gone fairly well for us and I am not looking into changing it at this time.

We have a very small group and we have the same set up. 2X's in the past 5 years I have taken away the physical activity period because of the same problem. My student had to bring homework or a book to read to the bleachers (yes in the gym) and sit quietly. This lasted 1 month the first time and 2 months the second time (until spring the 2nd time and we could go outside). This year I haven't had problems so they have had their recess/activity time.

We have recess for each of our 3 lunch periods and like you, I hate it. When I arrived 3 years ago, there was a before-school recess for students who arrived early. I stopped that almost immediately, and would now like to go without the lunch recess. Please let me know what you heard from around the state. Thanks.