Recess Recession

We are already over a month into the new school year and things are shaping up to be more challenging than ever this year, and its not due to standardized testing, or a new federal curriculum; the biggest challenge to teachers this fall, is what you would least expect—recess. 

“I think it really accelerated with COVID, but honestly it may have been before that,” Crystal Matthews is an elementary school teacher at Millard Filmore Elementary School, in Jamestown Ohio, and she says despite what most people think, the toughest subject to teach right now, is recess. 

“They don’t know how to use the playground anymore,” she laments, “just yesterday a girl had to be taken inside because she kept yelling ‘Alexa, change temperature to 72 degrees!’ over and over again.”  I’m actually beginning to worry about next year.”  Matthews has apparently been a teacher for over 12 years, but she has never seen it this bad. 

We asked child psychologist, Darlene Dillon, what she thought of the whole situation. 

“Honestly, it’s time the world itself caught up with the modern era.  The days of ‘tag’ and hide and seek’ have gone.  If we want to keep up on the global stage and really be developing STEM focused kids, we need to figure out how to incorporate software into touching grass.” 

Reportedly Microsoft is already working on a new high tech playground set to roll out next year, with touchscreen technology, voice commands, controllable temperature zones, and modifiable LED lighting, which really begs the question, why go outside at all?