Did you know that penitentiaries are required by law to provide two hours per day of outside physical activity as a violence injury prevention initiative? In North American schools, many students don’t even get 15 min. unrestricted recess per day! In fact, some schools allow students to stay inside during breaks and lunch, glued to their phones playing violent video games or porn while cyberbullying their peers on social media. Student violence against teachers and peers has been steadily increasing in North American schools with studies citing crowding and insufficient staff levels as casual factors, but is anyone considering sedentary cell phone use, insufficient recess and infantile playgrounds as well? Can you imagine being a student in a crowded classroom crammed with desks, overwhelmed with noise and chaos, overstimulated with screens, limited in recess, breaks and soothing outdoor environments…all the while trying to learn alongside aggressive and violent peers? Can you imagine being a teacher trying to manage these students? No one, adult or child, is behaving well these days consuming way too ‘screen time’ and not engaging in enough playful ‘green time’. This article by a pediatric occupational therapist, documents the recent increase in school violence, and profiles physical, mental, social, emotional and cognitive outcomes for students who participate regularly in outdoor physical activity. This article is strategy focused and points the way toward improved health and wellness through enactment of movement and nature initiatives in classrooms, gyms and playground settings.
The Canadian Public Health Association reports declining recess in both Canada and the U.S. starting around 2000 with the No Child Left Behind initiative which favored academic time over recess. We need to understand that exercising at recess is not just an outlet for repressed energy, but that increased engagement in physical activity also enhances attention and learning, promotes self-regulation (see Active for Life), enhances creativity, provides risk (see No Rule Schools), improves fitness, reduces obesity and diabetes, prevents stroke/heart attack, prevents cancer, protects mental health, enhances sleep…I could go on and on and on, but you get the idea. We must act now to get our students off sedentary devices and outside to play to protect not only the students, but also the teachers (see Kevlar for Teachers)…but how? Many students have poor confidence and competence in physical and social activites and are consequently not motivated to participate in recess. Big mistake to allow cell phones (and all other digital devices) in schools as the result was failed attempts to participate in and learn physical activities. Cell phones should be banned from schools ‘bell to bell’ if we are to reverse these worrisome trends as physical and social engagements happen during lunch and breaks.
In July 2018 the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) released a study with teachers from Ontario, Quebec, and B.C. self-reporting about their experiences with violence in the classroom. The study found that between 41 and 90 per cent of surveyed teachers, depending on the jurisdiction, had experienced or witnessed violence directed toward teachers from students or parents. Violence was classified as everything from verbal harassment and swearing, to physical threats and assault. Sherri Brown, director of research and professional learning at the CTF, described the current state as an “escalating crisis.” Verbal threats, physical assault and incidents involving weapons were among the most frequently reported, according to Brown. Fast forward to 2019 where the number of violent incidents reported by educators with the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board has doubled in the past three years, from 2,713 in 2016-2017 to 5,430 between September 2018 and May 2019. Last school year in the Waterloo Region District School Board there were approximately 1,300 incidents involving elementary student-on-teacher violence, up from around 900 the previous year. In 2022, WorkSafe BC reported 4,125 STD/LTD/death claims with 103,050 lost work days in British Columbia schools, a steady increase since 2014. Teachers report they are “scared” to confiscate student’s cell phones which is a great deterrent to cell phone bans.
As more and more teachers and students become injured from violence in schools, and school shootings continue to rise, the need to act quickly with research evidenced initiatives is imperative. Because of these facts, both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Canadian Pediatric Society have stepped forward to create policy guidelines for improving risk-inclusive, outdoor physical activity for students in schools.
From my 35 years as a school occupational therapist, I have observed that kid’s bodies are like pressure cookers and contain significant pent-up energy that needs to be regularly released. When students are sedentary on phones, tablets and laptops, this energy builds up making it much harder for the child to maintain control. Many teachers tell me that acts of student aggression and violence are not predictable and consequently are difficult to manage. While I’ve witnessed significant behavior tracking and intervention tools, rarely do I see effective prevention protocols in place using outdoor physical activity outlets. Some time ago I developed the Ten Pillars of Successful Schools which focuses on improved outdoor exercise and recess, but also implementation of screen management policy, improved literacy instruction (teach students to print), regular student chores (addressing self-esteem and motivation) and trauma informed practice.
To increase participation, students of all ages need to be presented with a variety of in/outdoor activities that are not competitive and where it’s not obvious that they can’t perform to the level of their peers. As adult interests in types of activites vary considerably, so do students and therefore variety is essential. Following are some suggestions which are referenced on the Zone’in Body Breaks Chart for classrooms, gyms and playgrounds to get schools started on a healthy track.
Classrooms: students can pay attention 1 min. per year of age, so movement breaks should be offered accordingly. Teachers can create “Body Break” stations which might include an exercise bike, treadmill, TRX Strapping, slam balls (great for energy release), wobble boards (great for improved reading cadence), standing tables (for waking kids up). Committing to one class per day outside will improve attention and learning and reduce problematic behaviours e.g. aggression and violence.
Gyms/Foyers: obstacle courses with loud music for before/after school and during lunch can draw in even the most shy students as there is always something for everyone. Ping pong tables, foosball and air hockey are less physical but often easier for students with poor fitness levels. A few tables set aside in the lunchroom for chess tournaments, card games, Dungeon and Dragons or board games offer opportunity for social interactions.
Playgrounds: from babes to the elderly, playgrounds can offer enhanced performance in all five developmental domains: physical, social, emotional, mental and cognitive. Over zealous licensing officers have effectively removed equipment with any potential for harm, leaving kids with little risk and consequently little interest in infantile playgrounds. While injury prevention is crucial, having a zero-tolerance policy for injuries deprives children of what they need to grow and succeed. Teens and teachers need fit core type play structures, BarStarzz bars, skateboard parks, etc. which provide activity for all levels of ability.
Switch focus from screen-based learning to movement and nature-based learning! Your students will be happier, healthier and more successful in all that they do.
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