Gotta love the Beastie Boys! This song has a catchy beat and it’s easy to exercise with. Kids and teachers can enjoy this song during PE class. Children need to move their bodies more often in school than they currently do. Too often children are not given enough time to move their bodies and stretch out.
These days, it seems like schools are doing away with recess and opting for more time in the classroom. It’s not just the United States, but also South Korean schools stress a heavy academic system (especially at the middle and high school levels). While students here may achieve high scores in maths and science, little time is spent in the upper grades for physical education (though at the elementary level there is ample time for physical development).
This high-stakes educational environment does not help students develop into socially adept, confident individuals. Kids need time to play, relax, have fun, and develop social skills. They gotta fight for their right to party!
Kids need recess! I remember having recess twice a day when I was in kindergarten through second grade, and then once per day after that. As kids get older they should develop the necessary skills to sit for long periods of time, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have recess. In the US, standardized testing takes an ungodly amount of time and preparation! It is meant to bring up the levels of English and maths of US students as they rank lower than other countries in comparison. While it’s important to improve academic performance, my mind asks this question:
Why do educational policy-makers push for high rankings at the cost of student social and physical development?
Children need to learn and grow both academically and physically!
(Ok my rant is over)
So, You Think You Can Teach ESL? 