Westchester Elementary students reject mock legislation to eliminate recess

An attempt to eliminate recess in the Westchester Elementary School was unanimously defeated today in the Missouri Capitol, by a legislative committee made up of members of its 4^th grade class.

The class held a mock hearing on the proposal, giving its students a chance to learn more about how the legislative process works.

The hearing was chaired by Kirkwood Democrat Deb Lavender, whose district includes Westchester Elementary.

“How many of you were upset when I told you there had been a bill filed to take away recess?” Lavender asked the students, who all put their hands up in response.  “And even when I told you I was just kidding you were still a little upset because it might be true, right?”

Lavender explained that sometimes people come to the Capitol to testify on real bills that they have a concern about, just as students today testified about this made-up legislation.

The students had prepared in the weeks leading up to the mock hearing learning how the legislative process works and preparing to make their case against the banning of recess.

The mock bill was introduced by 4^th grade teacher Jeni Ono, who presented the arguments for this made-up proposal.

“According to an article in Education World, students need to prepare by spending more time on academics in order to perform well on standardized tests, and we need those test scores to be as high as possible,” said Ono.  “To be successful in life children need academic learning.  Trimming a few minutes off of recess or even eliminating it altogether won’t hurt children at all.  They get a lot of time at home, after school hours to get physical activity in the day.”

No one spoke in favor of eliminating recess except Ono and her fellow 4^th grade teacher Brigette Ryan.

Children argued that recess gives them time in sunlight during which they are exposed to healthy Vitamin-D, that it gives them time to interact socially, and that studies have shown that children need time for unstructured play in order to thrive.

4^th grader Keaton Coldwater said sometimes kid need a break just like adults.

“When you’re in class sometimes it gets uncomfortable, and you just want to get outside and do something other than just sit in class, so it reduces stress.  If you’re stressed about something you just get outside and play,” said Coldwater.

The student committee held a vote and the mock bill to eliminate recess was defeated 11-0.  Lavender noted this was the third year such a proposal had been offered and defeated, and she expects it will come up again for future students to consider.