Azaa Battsogt

Having recess for middle school students can benefit them greatly.

This story has been contributed by a student from Granger Middle School.

After conducting thorough research, I strongly believe in including recess in middle schools. I have four persuasive reasons to support my assertion: students will have more concentration, a longer attention span, higher academic scores, and fun. 

First, having a recess break can help students concentrate during their lessons. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) has confirmed that recess can lead to better test scores as students are more engaged and less distracted by the urge to talk, knowing they will have time to socialize later. This would also help the teacher because the teacher could teach without students talking. Also, recess gives students a well-needed break.

And that brings us to my second point: breaks. Students(especially middle schoolers) have very short attention spans. Breaks could help that attention span become longer. Many psychologists agree that there should be breaks even after elementary school. Even just 30 minutes (half the average middle school period) would help the school be much more enjoyable. 

That also brings us to our third point: fun. Having fun should be a part of a student’s life. However, homework can dramatically reduce the fun a student can have. On average, students have two hours of homework a day! This means that on some days, students can have no fun time at all. Recess would solve that. Even just 30 minutes of recess, which would barely affect academic performance, would make school more enjoyable. These are all the benefits of recess. I think these reasons would be enough to convince me if I were a school administrator.

And that brings me to my final point, better academic scores. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), recess breaks can increase test scores by a whopping 20 percent! That could bring a school’s average test score way up! If you’re older, you’re under more stress because of more difficult coursework. Having a recess would especially benefit older kids. If I were a school administrator, there would be recess for every grade!

That brings us to my conclusion. Recess in middle school has so many benefits. It can lead to better grades and a more focused class. I hope you were convinced that there should be a recess in middle school. Otherwise, you might be a little cruel to the kids.