By Sara Ward
Associate Editor
When I think of recess, I recall warm days spent running down the hill behind my elementary school to the row of swing sets lined up in the back and pumping my legs so fast I thought I would be able to touch the sky. I remember playing tag with my friends and kicking soccer balls around before we were stuck behind desks once again working on math problems and perfecting our cursive handwriting.
If I scraped my knee or tripped over a ball, there were tears, but it was nothing a colorful Band-Aid couldn’t fix.
Weber Middle School in Port Washington, N.Y., has a different opinion on what’s appropriate at recess. After a large amount of playground injuries during recess, the school enacted a ban on footballs, baseballs, soccer balls, lacrosse balls or any other equipment that may harm students, according to an Oct. 14 CNN story.
Rough games of tag or cartwheels also have to be closely monitored by a teacher, but students are allowed to play with softer Nerf balls.
While I understand student safety should be considered a top concern for schools, it’s ridiculous that all sports balls have been banned.
For me, recess meant freedom from the restrictive class schedule I had to live by. When I was little, it gave me a chance to have fun with my friends and get some exercise before returning to learning in the classroom.
Taking away some activities during recess takes away from the freedom of it. Students can’t experience playing sports with their friends simply because they are deemed more dangerous than throwing a Nerf ball around.
Accidents may happen and children may get hurt, but there are more benefits to being athletic and taking part in a game during recess.
Students who participate in sports learn teamwork by relying on others on their team and confidence when they are able to score a goal and their team wins a game. According to the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports at Michigan State University, children who play sports learn life skills like time management, reduce stress and depression, develop leadership skills and find a sense of belonging which increases self-esteem.
It’s especially important that students get the chance to discover this during recess because sometimes playing sports in gym class or on an actual team can be intimidating. Learning how to play sports during recess eliminates the fear of joining a team and allows students to get a good work out.
As long as there are teachers supervising the students, I don’t understand why sports would be banned when the benefits far outweigh the negative of students getting hurt.
“Children’s safety is paramount, but at the same time, you have to let them live life,” Port Washington parent Ellen Cohen said in an Oct. 8 CBS News story.
Students will get hurt at one time or another, no matter how much a school tries to stop it. But that’s part of growing up, and learning to deal with the accidents and bad things that come a student’s way will only make he or she stronger as a person.
Kids will be kids and injuries will occur, but we need to encourage students in our country to be active and get involved in sports, not stifle their recess time.
wardse10@bonaventure.edu
