The Elephant on the Playground - National Association of ...

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Elephant</strong> onthe PlaygroundJill VialetEvery principal knows that recess can be hell.But it doesn’t have to be.Ask any elementary school principal what the toughest part of the dayis, and most will answer with one word: recess. That’s because recess iswhen most trouble starts. When I asked one principal recently aboutrecess, she promptly rattled off a list of headaches, such as “the teasing, thefights, the bullying, the injuries, the referrals.” Brearn Wright Jr., the principalat Clark Elementary School in Washington, D.C., recently told me that whenit’s recess time, his job is instantly transformed into a cross between a surgeonin a MASH unit and Judge Joe Brown. When Wright isn’t treating casualties onthe playground or sending injured students to the nurse’s office, he is mediatingbetween blacktop brawlers who take on the roles of plaintiff and defendant.<strong>The</strong> recess crisis has become the ugly secret thatno one talks about but every principal confrontsonce or twice a day. Call it the elephant on theplayground.<strong>The</strong> Lost Art of Playground Play<strong>The</strong> schoolyard has changed considerably sincewe were kids. If you were like me, you grew up playingfour square or kickball, tetherball, or freeze tag.<strong>The</strong>se were games that got us running, playing, andgenerally having a great time. We had no idea at thetime that they were actually good for us.But in the age of the Xbox and PlayStation 3,many children come to school not really knowinghow to engage in healthy play. For those who livein rough neighborhoods, playing outdoors actuallymay be forbidden by their parents for safety reasons.As a result, many kids never learn the basics ofoutdoor play. <strong>The</strong>y don’t know how to make up andfollow rules or how to resolve conflicts.In an all-too-common scenario, games devolveinto conflict and fighting before they even getstarted. When chaos reigns on the playground, itcan spill over into the classroom. And when childrendon’t feel safe in school, it affects their ability tolearn.We shouldn’t blame kids for not knowing theABCs of playground play. It is something that canbe taught and kids have an amazing ability to learnwhen adults make even a modest effort. In fact,recess offers the perfect opportunity to make learningto play a part of every child’s school day. Thishas the dual benefit of eliminating a major behaviormanagement problem while also making a seriouscontribution to children’s emotional, social, andphysical development.38 Principal n November/December 2008 www.naesp.org

Teaching Kids How to PlayDuring the past 12 years, I have beenconducting an informal experimentat more than 130 schools in six citiesto see what happens when you puttrained adults on the playground atrecess. Through Sports4Kids, we havebeen putting play experts on schoolplaygrounds to teach classic games likekickball and four square, as well as newgames designed to build leadership andfoster teamwork.<strong>The</strong> results have been astounding. Inschool after school, the problems thatplague recess virtually disappear and thewhole school day goes more smoothlyas kids bring the confidence, teamwork,and constructive problem-solving skillsthey’ve learned on the playground intothe classroom—and into their lives.What we have learned from more thana decade in the playground trenches isthat recess does not have to be hell. Notonly is it possible to manage the chaos,but doing so can actually transform theentire school climate. This is becausethe same qualities that are fundamentalto safe and healthy play—teamwork,respect, and encouragement—are alsofundamental to safe and healthy schools.Last year, the Open Society Institute,investigating suspension trends in Baltimorepublic schools, discovered thatsuspensions plummeted at schools thatactively took steps to rescue recess byteaching kids how to play. A recent caseRyan McVay/Getty ImagesPrincipal n November/December 200839

study by the Harvard Family ResearchProject saw similar changes in behaviorafter Sports4Kids took over the playgroundat Ohrenberger ElementarySchool in Boston. <strong>The</strong> study found thatover the course of one year, the wellfunctioningrecess fostered supportiverelationships among students, createdopportunities for meaningful youthinvolvement, and taught conflict resolutionand other life skills.A growing body of research and thereal-life experience of principals led theRobert Wood Johnson Foundation torecently declare recess as an undervaluedtime in schools. <strong>The</strong> foundation’s2007 report, “Recess Rules,” highlightsdata that makes the case for focusing onrecess on behalf of children’s health.<strong>The</strong> bottom line is that no principalshould feel powerless on the playgroundor feel that eliminating recess istheir only choice. It is not only possiblebut essential to replace the chaos witha positive alternative. And principalswho dedicate even modest energy andresources into rescuing recess will berewarded with happier and healthierschools.Resuscitating Recess:A Five-Point PlanHere are five things you can do torescue recess at your school:Map your schoolyard. <strong>The</strong> first stepis to take a good look at the assets andliabilities of your play area by observingthe current patterns of play:n What games are the kids playing?n What parts of the schoolyard arethey using?n How do students make the transitionsfrom cafeteria to schoolyardand back inside?n Where do kids who aren’t participatingstand?n Is structured play being used?n What are the adults doing?Once you have a sense of what’sgoing on, imagine what you’d like tosee. Take a piece of paper and draw arough sketch of your schoolyard dividedinto five or six different areas. Create anarea for the Game of the Week, for kidswho don’t generally participate. Selecta location for checking out equipmentas children flow from the cafeteria tothe yard. Think about using cones todesignate areas where kids can playbasketball and soccer. Talk with yourcustodian or facilities staff about paintinglines for four square.Teach everyone the rock-paper-scissorsgame. Nine times out of 10, playgroundconflicts are completely inconsequentialand with rock-paper-scissors as anagreed-upon tool for problem-solving,you will be amazed by how much moresmoothly things can go. One of the keythings about making it work is to haveeveryone use it to solve all types of disagreements.Encourage your teachersto use it in the classroom.Work with smaller groups. Teach groupsignals and game rules to a classroom orsmaller group of students. When you’revisiting classrooms, take a few minutesto teach signals like rhythmic clappingto get their attention, and explain thatyou will be using these signals on theschoolyard at recess. Also, work withsmall groups to teach rules to games.When kids don’t play well together,it’s often because they don’t know therules.Spend some time talking to kidsabout transitions. Have them comeup with rituals for starting and endingrecess—perhaps a cheer—to help themphysically acknowledge they are about tochange their environment and energylevels.Play outside yourself. Get in a game andencourage other adults to do the same.<strong>The</strong>re is no better way to engage kidswho don’t usually participate. Childrenbehave better and feel safer when thereare grown-ups playing with them.I know it’s obvious, but when you’replaying with kids you should model goodsporting behavior. Play hard, have fun,be supportive, and win or lose graciously.Give kids responsibilities. We run arecess program called Junior Coaches inwhich the oldest students distribute andcollect equipment, turn ropes for jumproping,resolve conflicts, and help splitkids into teams. <strong>The</strong> junior coaches alsocan take on bigger jobs, such as organizingintramural tournaments and runningthe Game of the Day. You can givesimilar responsibilities to your existingstudent leadership groups. In our program,we try to include some childrenwho have a history of negative recessbehavior. <strong>The</strong>re’s a lot of natural leadershipthere, and it’s much easier if they’reon your side.Taming the <strong>Elephant</strong>Ultimately, we believe that the mosteffective way to resuscitate recess is toplace a trained adult on your playground.All of our site coordinators have experiencein working with children and aretrained in methods they can use to create40 Principal n November/December 2008www.naesp.org

a structured, safe, and inclusive playground environment.If you aren’t currently in a city where Sports-4Kids operates, you can designate existing or newstaff to run recess, and we will help you train them.Recess may pale in importance when held upagainst the competing demands of boosting testscores and raising students’ academic achievement.But after more than a decade of workingwith principals to replace chaos with cooperationin the schoolyard, and to transform recess into anintegral and positive force in each child’s development,I am even more convinced that it pays to notonly acknowledge the elephant on the playground,but to teach it some new and—in some cases—oldtricks. PJill Vialet is the founder and president of Sports4Kids.Her e-mail address is jill@sports4kids.org.Web Resources“Squeezing in Recess: Easier for Some, No SmallFeat for Others,” is a September 2006 Communicatorarticle that discusses the difficulty some principalsface in finding the time to schedule recess forstudents given the pressures of state and federalrequirements associated with adequate yearlyprogress and the No Child Left Behind Act.www.naesp.org<strong>The</strong> mission of Sports4Kids is to improve thehealth and well-being of children by increasingopportunities for physical activity and safe,meaningful play. View a 10-minute documentaryabout a St. Louis elementary school before and afterSports4Kid’s program was introduced.www.sports4kids.orgThis research brief from Active Living Researchoffers a summary of peer-reviewed research aboutthe relationship between physical activity andchildren’s academic performance.www.rwjf.org/pr/product.jsp?id=23456 www.naesp.org Principal n November/December 200841