Ten minutes between classes in primary and secondary schools is to care for students' nature, follow the laws of education, and let students enjoy rare and precious time in free and cheerful physical and mental relaxation? Or is it to prevent potential safety hazards and avoid home-school disputes, so that students are quietly "kept in captivity" under the discipline requirements of "not leaving class after class", "not leaving the teaching building", and "not talking loudly and playing outside"? Or do you want students to make the most of the 10 minutes between classes to reinforce what they have learned in class or to complete assignments? In the triple game of "freedom", "safety" and "learning", what choice should schools make?
What is the function and significance of the 10 minutes between classes?
"Recess" is the time between classes. The Dictionary of Education defines it as: the interval between classes, which is arranged for student activities and breaks; It is used to regulate students' psychological state, relax the tension of learning, reduce fatigue, and help stimulate new enthusiasm for learning; The "recess" is generally 10 minutes each time, and there are also 20-30 minutes arranged for activities such as recess exercises or outdoor games.
Recess time is considered a student's statutory break time. The Communist Party of China** and the Ministry of Education have clearly stipulated in a number of documents that students shall not occupy their recess time. The Notice on Further Strengthening the Management of Physical Health of Primary and Secondary School Students and the Provisions on the Protection of Minors in Schools issued by the Ministry of Education in 2021 further clarify that "students should be arranged to go out of the classroom for appropriate activities and relaxation during each class period" and "unnecessary restrictions shall not be placed on students' freedom of words and deeds such as proper communication, games, and classroom activities during recess and other non-teaching hours".
The 10-minute break has a variety of functions and positive effects. Many scholars have conducted obesity intervention experiments based on recess activities, and found that a series of measures to promote physical activity, including recess activities, can effectively inhibit the growth rate of obesity among students. Increasing the amount of time spent outdoors between classes can reduce the incidence of myopia in adolescents. Recess and free activities can reduce the interference of cognitive processing and reduce the stress of learning. Recess activities also promote peer interaction, mutual cooperation, and the development of students' social skills.
Make good use of the 10 minutes between classes scientifically and rationally
Scientifically and rationally "place" the 10-minute recess requires multiple measures.
Schools should firmly grasp the purpose of educating people first and promoting the healthy growth of students. Ten minutes between classes is an important part of learning and life, students have the right to rest and relax, and the school should return the ten minutes between classes to students to promote students to develop learning habits conducive to the all-round development of body and mind.
Schools should formulate and resolutely implement a system of not delaying classes and not providing academic guidance between classes. The prerequisite for students to receive high-quality recess activities is that basic time is guaranteed. Only when this guarantee becomes a system and is subject to management and supervision can the recess time be truly returned to students.
School cultural environment and space design are important guarantees for carrying out high-quality recess activities. During the 10-minute recess, students can exercise moderately and relax, or they can stroll around the campus to observe and think. The school should carefully design the campus cultural environment, reasonably design the activity corner, discussion corner, labor corner, and observation corner, so that the campus can stop and observe everywhere, trigger imagination and thinking everywhere, and be full of fun and meaning everywhere, so as to provide students with high-quality time and space for learning life and life growth.
More importantly, in order to allow students to "move" with high quality, schools can develop some micro-courses of a few minutes according to the characteristics of the school, the class and the interests of students, and in a way that students like to see, are interesting and safe. These micro-courses can focus on the systematic and innovative design of sports, art and labor-related topics. Perhaps a micro-course experienced by students will become a source of activation for their creativity.
Arranging a 10-minute recess requires the school, the family and the community to reach a consensus and form a joint force. It is necessary to establish and improve risk prevention and control mechanisms, so as to free schools and teachers from the worry of "taking unlimited responsibility", and alleviate or resolve the worries of parents and schools that students may be accidentally harmed by participating in recess activities; It is necessary to actively guide parents to establish a scientific outlook on growth, and realize that the fundamental purpose and value of school education is to promote the healthy growth of students, rather than just helping students achieve good grades and high scores through examinations. Only in this way can we return the ten minutes between classes to students more scientifically.
The authors, Tan Xia, are assistant researchers at the Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences, and Li Tie'an is a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences
*: China Education News.