Article Summary
This essay is based on an article by Anthony D. Pellegrini entitled A Disjuncture between Educational Policy and Scientific Research. Its purpose is to argue that school change is very important. Recess is a form of filling primary school students’ physical activity deficit (Pellegrini, 2008). School is designed to give the younger generation a deep and lasting knowledge of the basics of science, develop the necessary skills and abilities, form a world view, and ensure the full development of personality. School breaks are intended for pupils and teachers to rest, move to another room, and prepare for the upcoming lesson.
During the break, children rest from mental activity. Recess should not be used to prepare for the next lesson. Pupils go to the ventilated recreation room or the outdoor sports ground. It is also a good time during recess to discuss all the things that could not be expressed in class. From a physiological point of view, recess is designed to make fatigue disappear. Fatigue is a physiological state due to strenuous or prolonged activity and is expressed in decreased performanceThe rate at which tiredness sets in is determined by the condition of the neurological system, the frequency of the work rhythm, and the amount of the load: “when they play games with their peers such as spotting games, they are motivated to engage their social cognitive resources” (Pellegrini, 2008, p. 185). Uninteresting work causes the onset of fatigue more quickly. Children become fatigued when immobile for an extended period and have little motor activity.
Article Response
After rest, performance is restored and often exceeds the original level. By switching from one type of activity to another, performance is restored significantly faster than at total rest and active rest. The significance of the development of fatigue in children during learning activities is twofold: It is a protective, protective reaction of the body against excessive exhaustion of functional potential and, at the same time, a stimulant for the subsequent growth of work capacity. As a result, hygienic standards for the design of children’s and teenagers’ educational activities are targeted at delaying the development of weariness in pupils, making rest more effective in protecting the body from the detrimental consequences of excessive fatigue. Fatigue is preceded by a subjective experience of exhaustion and a desire to rest. In the absence of enough rest, weariness steadily builds up, leading to overfatigue. Overfatigue manifests in sleep disorders, headaches, indifference to what is happening, and decreased memory and attention. Academic performance reflects a severe decline in the body’s mental ability (Pellegrini, 2008). Prolonged overwork weakens the body’s resistance to various adverse influences, including disease.
Fatigue is the body’s natural response to a more or less extended and intense strain. The load that causes fatigue is necessary. Without it, it is impossible to build children’s and teenagers’ adaptability to mental and physical stress. The planning and distribution of these loads should be done skillfully, considering pupils’ age-sex and morphofunctional characteristics (Pellegrini, 2008). Recovery mechanisms facilitate performance return to its previous level and can boost it above this level during structured active recreation. The alternation of mental and physical work at the moment of the sharp decrease in capacity for work and the subsequent organization of active rest promotes the restoration of the functional state of the central nervous system. Younger students get tired faster, so during classes, they have time to get up from the desk under the supervision of a teacher, stretch their legs, neck, and fingers, and give rest their eyes (Pellegrini, 2008). After such physical activities, students feel much better and do not get distracted for the rest of the lesson.
Another important point is safety during the break. Compliance with the recess rules is necessary for comfort and safety. Recess rules are the same in all schools nationwide. It comes down to the fact that children do not run (prevention of falls, collisions, and injuries), do not shout, and do not run outside the school. In the lower grades, the organization of the school break is the responsibility of the teacher. Children can organize their leisure time in middle and high school (Pellegrini, 2008). In order to keep order in the school corridors, the middle and senior classes organize alternating shifts.
Several factors influence recess behavior. First and foremost is the temperament of the students. Not everyone can prepare quietly for class or look out the window. Active, restless children find it incredibly difficult to sit through an entire lesson without movement, so they enthusiastically rush forward at recess. Not always, but more often, more active, mobile, and mischievous all the same boys (Pellegrini, 2008). Their nature has awarded an irrepressible thirst for activity; discipline is much harder for them. Suppose it is customary at home to respect others, to consider their wishes, and to observe the rules of conduct in society and at school. In that case, these children usually have no problems with discipline. Children from “dysfunctional” families are problematic – they are characterized by aggression or, on the contrary, by being uptight and lonely.
Another problematic category is children who are allowed everything. They are called “spoiled.” They do not react to “no”; they have no bans. Such children show despotic qualities and often become “negative” leaders. It is worth mentioning that if a child does not get enough attention at home or among his peers, he tries to get it by any means: to break a school subject, offend a comrade, or be rude to a teacher (Pellegrini, 2008). The classroom’s psychological climate is a very important aspect that influences the whole class’s behavior. If peace reigns in the children’s team, they quietly organize their time at recess. Here the task falls entirely on the teacher. Schoolchildren still need to learn how to organize the microclimate in their little children’s world (Pellegrini, 2008). Opinions, authority, and positive examples of an adult will help make the class friendly and united, positively affecting the children’s behavior and the teacher’s productivity.
Reflection Questions
Reading the article, I realized that refusing to change would significantly decrease student achievement. Since schools alternate subjects one after the other, a child will not have the opportunity to tune in to the lesson ahead. For example, switching from math to literature or between two foreign languages would take much work. Paying attention to how I respond to a source helps me formulate an opinion about a topic in that it provides plenty of evidence and arguments that change is necessary. Many statistical facts and analyses support this idea. That is why change is integral to the school day.
Reference
Pellegrini, A. D. (2008). The recess debate: A disjuncture between educational policy and scientific research. American Journal of Play, 1(2), 181-191.