Recess: East Providence style
Don Roach, MINDSETTER™
Recess: East Providence style
So, the kids of East Providence won’t have recess any longer. Not sure if I’ve ever said this in my 32 years on our little ball of dirt but, when I was a kid recess was as much a part of school as English, Social Studies, or getting picked on because my last name is the same as that of the world’s most annoying (and durable) insect.
Unfortunately, the kids of East Providence will no longer be able to have memories of kickball success/failure, building sandcastles that are “the hugest in the world”, tell a girl for the first time you like her and have her laugh…in your face, nor any of the many wonderful things we all experienced as kids during recess.
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What’s worse is that school committee chairman, Anthony Carcieri thinks that by removing recess you also get rid of “falls, fights, and someone [being] left out”. It’s this type of politically correct thinking that’s going to doom us. Kids need to learn that it’s not the end of the world to lose, that sometimes someone has more talent than you and wins, and how you play the game is just as important as winning. Yet, our culture seems more intent upon teaching children that there are no losers and that everybody wins. Sorry, but that’s simply not true. When these children meet the real world, the real world teaches them something completely different: there are situations where you win and lose.
And isn’t it easier to bounce back from a loss in a kickball game than losing your job, home, or the like? It’s too bad the East Providence school system doesn’t see it that way.