For some students, the period falling before or after lunch is spent frollicking in the grass, climbing mountains, or sliding down structures in sheer happiness. For others, though, this period, otherwise known as “recess,” has diminished to almost nothing. Of course, one may consider that the four minute passing periods, when totaled, amount to twenty minutes: plenty of time to stretch one’s legs and perhaps kick a ball if feeling particularly ambitious.
In a sea of high school students, Ava Davies stepped forward and ended her years long silence regarding recess.“I loved recess and I think high schoolers should have nap time, personally,” Ava Davies, senior, said. These words of elegance and grace shine light on a serious topic: high school students are desperately tired. Davies’s proposal of nap time plays directly into that of recess: perhaps students could be offered a choice between intense play and sleep, depending on their daily needs.
Among the sea of high school students begging for recess, there is, of course, the outlier, the one who truly believes recess is only for the smallest of youth.
“I actually hated recess as a kid because everyone was fighting over me,” Kassidy Layton, senior, said. “And all the swings were taken so that made me really stressed out.”
At first glance, Layton’s remarks seem unfavorable towards the concept of recess; however, upon closer examination, the conclusion has been drawn that it was not recess itself that caused this unbearable stress, but the circumstances revolving around recess. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that in a present-day scenario containing students who have more maturity and a recess with more playground equipment options, Layton would have a more positive experience.
To put it simply, Layton’s experience demonstrates how every single student to ever exist loves nap time and recess, so it is of utmost importance that this daily break is reinstated for all.
