High School Recess: A Necessity?

Schools are adopting 15 minute “recess” time for students and I think that is brilliant. They encourage students to “unplug” during that time and play a quick game, or just unwind, which I think would’ve been great when I was in high school. Granted, I was in high school before everyone having cellphones, but I still would have loved having 15 minutes to get a quick card game (Euchre or Spades) in before having to go to my next class.

The average high school day is around 8 hours, and you get a lunch break, and that’s about it. Sure, high school is the gateway to adulthood, but are we making kids grow up to quickly by enduring a strenuous day starting at age 14? Even in my day to day job, I get more downtime then most students during a high school day. Giving kids a break would probably help kids throughout the day by giving them a break and letting them unwind a bit midday.