Media mention: Jones discusses HB83 in AJC guest column
In a recent column in the AJC, Stephanie Jones, Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of Educational Theory and Practice, joined other Georgians dismayed over Gov. Brian Kemp’s veto of a bill mandating elementary school recess.
Jones says unstructured playtime ought to be part of a child’s school day. House Bill 83 would have required most schools with kindergarten through fifth grade classes to schedule recess daily. The bill encouraged a half an hour a day of recess, and called on school boards to write policies ensuring that recess “is scheduled so that it provides a break” and isn’t withheld “for disciplinary or academic reasons.”
“It might not be a state law, but research is clear about the necessity of unstructured play and how it benefits physical, psychological, social, and academic well-being,” wrote Jones. “Even if such benefits weren’t clearly documented, it is simply unethical to withhold play, leisure, and recreation from young people.”