To the Next President,

For the past five years, schools have been cutting recess time or cancelling it all together. With schools switching to the Common Core curriculum, academics have become a greater need. Elementary schools are already thinking about the students going to college and are forcing them to cut something out of their schedule. What they don’t realize is the tremendous amount of pressure it is on the teacher to go a full day, five days a week, with no breaks for gym or recess.

Kids need the physical activity to be able to run around and burn off energy. Because they sit inside trapped in school for seven hours, going outside to take a mental break is needed. It helps them learn and have a better understanding of dealing with social issues. Some kids physically cannot sit still for seven hours; especially coming back from summer break. Because they had all day to run around and burn off energy cutting recess means they bottle up the energy and could cause behavioral issues in the classroom.

As president, I ask of you to ensure that students are getting the required amount of physical activity in a day. With obesity in children and America on the high end, they need to be exposed to recess. They are missing perfect opportunities to see things first hand in the world and have to learn how to deal with outside situations.

Sincerely,

Mackenzie 

By National PTA on September 3, 2013. "Learning First Alliance." Public School Insights Blog. N.p., 3 Sept. 2013. Web. 22 Oct. 2016.

Caplan, Arthur L., and Lee H. Igel. "The Common Core Is Taking Away Kids' Recess--And That Makes No Sense." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 15 Jan. 2015. Web. 22 Oct. 2016.