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Education

Georgia makes recess mandatory for grades K-5. Here's why it's important

Unstructured playtime is crucial for kids.

mandatory recess, Georgia
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Nine other states have made playtime a requirement.

Recess will now be mandatory in Georgia for students in grades K-5, thanks to a new law under the state’s Quality Basic Education Act.

Georgia is the 10th state to make recess a requirement, joining Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Missouri, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Virginia and West Virginia, according to the National Association of State Boards of Education.

The bill, signed by Georgia governor Brian Kemp, states that recess could not be taken away by teachers or school officials as a “disciplinary” action. And it’s important to note that unlike PE, which provides physical activity but still contains rigid curriculum, recess is defined here as “unstructured break time."

Granted, that might be the most boring verbiage ever. Is the word “play” just too chaotic? Regardless, having a bit of unbridled fun is proving to be just as vital to a child’s well-being and development as pure academia.

The American Academy of Pediatrics considers recess a necessity. It offers an essential “respite from rigorous cognitive tasks.” Mental breaks remain an important skill long after school is over. And the habit can be very hard to instill later in life. Just ask the adult writing this article. No amount of Pomodoro timers or right-brained activity lists seem to thwart my ever-constant need to be productive.

georgia makes recess mandatoryPhoto by Ryan Fields on Unsplash

Besides, learning doesn’t stop at recess. A 2013 policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics states that “children develop intellectual constructs and cognitive understanding through interactive, manipulative experiences. This type of exploratory experience is a feature of play in an unstructured social environment.” Other studies have indicated that recess actually helps focus and productivity in the classroom.

Recess gives kids a time when they can imagine, move and socialize. Through interactive games in an open environment, they can build lifelong social skills like empathy, leadership, collaboration, conflict resolution … you know, all those things you have to relearn through trust falls at a company team-building retreat. Again, these are tools we will continue to use throughout our life, or at least as long as we’re around other people. Why not develop them on a daily basis?

benefits of recess

Remember this game?

Photo by Artem Kniaz on Unsplash

Recess is perhaps more important than ever as we inch ever-closer to a post-pandemic world, after two-plus years of virtual learning while sitting in front of a computer screen. In fact, it could even be the key to collective healing, according to Elizabeth Cushing, CEO of Playworks. In an interview with USA Today, she noted that “our brains can’t take on the work of learning if we don’t feel safe. Because [recess] makes school feel like a fun, welcoming and inclusive place to be, play can be a really powerful, efficient and easy lever to pull to help kids feel safer.”

The No Child Left Behind Act enacted in 2001 placed an emphasis on standardized test scores. As a result, recess was largely depleted, if not cut out entirely. This was a mistake. Play is in itself a powerful learning tool, one that helps us throughout our entire lifetime. More states mandating this basic necessity is great news. It’s at least one sign that we are moving toward a world where joy, pleasure and human connection are part of a core curriculum. More happy, healthy humans, please.

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How a warm bowl of Korean curry came to represent love and sacrifice

Food can mean so many things.

All images provided by Kat Chao

A photo of Kat and her mom, and a bowl of her mom's famous curry

True

Whether it’s the mac n’ cheese that reminds you of simpler times, or the exotic spiced chicken recipe you acquired from your travels, every meal tells a story.

This rings especially true for people whose families immigrate to different countries to start a new life. Immigrant parents often not only save every penny, but spend most of their time away working in order to build a future for their children. Each comfort meal they manage to provide their kids in the very few spare hours they have tells the story of love and sacrifice.

For Kat Chao, that meal was her mother’s Korean curry.

korean foodA photo of baby Kat and her mom and dad

Growing up, Kat’s mom worked weekends to support her family. But that didn’t stop her from waking up Saturday morning to dice up some beef and fresh veggies and throw them into a large pot so that Kat’s dad could heat it up and serve it with some rice to her and her brothers later.

Curry was a quick, easy and inexpensive way to feed a full house, but it served more than just practical purposes. As Kat would wake up to the enticing aroma, she was reminded that her mom was always taking care of her, even if she couldn’t physically be there.

koran curryYUM

As Kat grew a little older, her attitude towards her mother’s curry shifted. Instead of looking forward to it, she would “roll her eyes at it,” as is customary of the rebellious teen. Those less-than-positive feelings were only exacerbated by the media constantly labeling carbs, therefore rice, as “bad.” As a kid who struggled with weight, her comfort food became a source of discomfort.

But as an adult, and now a mom herself, Kat has reached a full circle moment.

korean recipes, albertsonsKat, all grown up with her own familiy

As she makes her own kids the exact same curry dish (okay, maybe a leaner cut of beef, and organic veggies…but otherwise exactly the same!) Kat finds a whole new appreciation for the recipe, knowing how hard her mom worked to even make it happen.

Kat was lucky to have grown up with a meal to look forward to each night. Other kids aren’t so lucky. 1 in 8 kids currently experience food insecurity in the United States. But there’s an opportunity to decrease those numbers.

For every O Organics product you purchase, the company will donate a meal to someone in need through the Albertsons Companies Foundation—for up to a total of 28 million meals.

Is there a dish from your childhood that you’ve longed to rekindle with? You could do like Kat does and give it an O Organic twist. Luckily, the O Organics brand has a wide array of affordable ingredients, so creating healthy swaps is easier than ever. Plus, you can provide nourishment to another family at the same time.

Just think—the next meal you prepare could make all the difference to someone else. If every meal tells a story, that’s certainly a story worth telling.

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