Yesterday, Roula and Ryan had me on their morning show to talk about Recess and this petition. They had me in the studio to explain what is going on in our HISD Elementary Schools... that Recess is not a mandatory part of the curriculum so kids get it taken away for discipline (which the HISD Student Code and Conduct Manual does not list as an option) or are kept in to prepare for standardized testing. We also talked about how HISD doesn't comply with the SB 530 for daily PE and that Recess is at risk of being eliminated in order to fulfill the PE requirement.
The phone lines were blinking like crazy before Roula even gave out the call in number. Many were teachers applauding the petition, others confirmed that their students are kept in from recess to prepare for testing. The message is that Kids and Teachers need a break in the day... a free time break.
Roula asked with the Budget Cuts how this affects Recess and i told her that...
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http://udel.edu/~roberta/play/rights.html
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
The UN Convention on the Rights of the child is an international treaty that sets out universally accepted rights for children. It is a benchmark against which a nation’s treatment of its children can be measured. It brings together in one comprehensive code the benefits and protection for children hitherto scattered in a variety of other agreements, including the Declaration of the Rights of the Child adopted in 1959.
The Convention was officially approved by the United Nations in 1989 and has been ratified by almost every country in the world. Ratification of the Convention is a commitment by “States Parties” to comply with the articles of the Convention and thereby to protect and enhance the basic rights of children through their policies, programs and services.
Article 31 of the UN Convention
That every child has the right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational...
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Yesterday, I attended a meeting at HISD Administration Building that was arranged by Melanie Crawford, Manager of Elementary Health and PE. The following people attended the meeting:
Melanie Crawford, Manager of Elementary Health and PE
Walter Smith, HISD Elementary Fine Arts Curriculum Manager
Dr. Beverly Gor, Texas Health Disparities Scholar and Executive Director of CAN DO Houston
Judy Britt, Poe ES Fine Arts Magnet Coordinator
Linda Suttles, Poe ES PE Teacher
Tammy Jaben, Poe ES PTO President
Cybele Beckham, Poe Parent
Chrysi Polydoros, Poe Parent
I brought research articles supporting the need for “free” recess, as well as, copies of the pages in the HISD Elementary School Guidelines 2010-2011 which related to SB 50, SB 892, and Recess (the links are on the right column of the petition). Ms. Crawford also had relevant materials available for everyone to view.
Let me tell you a little about the Recess discussion. We talked about the difference...
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I am the mother of 4 very active girls with different learning style, interests, and personalities. One of the most important things that I have learned from Suzanne Gusmanno, Director of First Steps Montessori School, is that if you don't give your kids the opportunity to move you're setting them up to fail.
This year I noticed that Poe Elementary School had only 15 minutes of recess on their schedule, which seemed shorter than past years. One day my second grade daughter told me she wasn't getting recess because a few students were not behaving. As a consequence, the teacher told the students that the entire class would not get recess that day. When I looked into the HISD Disciplinary Policy, I did not find "group discipline" or "withholding recess" as disciplinary options.
I called HISD to see where I could find the HISD recess policy and I was shocked that recess was only mandatory for PK-K. "Are you kidding me!" I blurted out...
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012411_norecess.mp3