This petition addresses the inappropriate use of ineffective disciplinary measures taken by staff, teachers and child care workers who take away recess or meal time as a disciplinary consequence for misbehavior in the classroom and/or due to a social conflict between children. Recess is an integral component of children's social, emotional and physical development, furthermore, recess has shown to improve children's academic achievement while helping them learn how to problem solve during times of distress. School Districts and policy makers must make this requirement a law provision that would prohibit any schools from taking recess break time away for any reason.
"Using negative consequences to alter behavior suppresses the undesirable behavior only while the threat of punishment is present; it doesn’t teach self-discipline or address the actual behavior problem. Therefore, student behavior patterns are not changed (Weinberg & Gould, 2007)."
"Taking away recess as punishment is inappropriate and constitutes an unsound education practice that has been adopted by many public and charter schools in America." National association for sport & physical education