Teens like having time to cool off and relax during the day. After school they have too much work to do and if they play sports they have to practice until dark. Having a 25-minute “recess” would benefit the teens and they would be able to focus more in class.

Every teacher knows, or should know, that every high schooler, even the ones who make straight A’s, don’t pay attention at times. There are certain days where teens feel like the work that is piled on them is too much and they need a break. But their way of taking a break is not caring, zoning out, or leaving the classroom to roam the halls. This 25-minute break could also benefit the teachers. They have more work than the students, plus they have to deal with a bunch of teenagers all day. This time would give them a chance to make plans for class, relax, grade papers, or talk to other teachers to get ideas. Recess doesn’t always have to be about the kids, adults need breaks too.  

Most teens love spending time with friends and having fun, but in school they can’t do that. Teachers say they’re going to make class fun, but all they do is talk; that makes teens restless and they just want to get up and move around. In between classes is the only time students get to talk to their friends. It is not rare for friends to get split up at lunch so you can’t say that’s the student’s time for socializing. Having this break would help students pay attention in class because they wouldn’t have as much of an urge to talk to their friends or get up and walk around the room. This keeps the teachers from being stressed because they have to make sure the students are behaving and it keeps the kids engaged in their work.

Lastly, a lot of teens play sports, so whether it’s basketball, football, soccer, baseball etc. they will be practicing for hours each day. It puts a lot of stress on kids when they are focused on sports and school work. In order to stay on the team they have to keep their grades up, but that is hard to do when they have homework in six different classes. The recess would give them time to work on their homework, get help from a friend with the same homework, or just relax and have some time to calm down.

In conclusion, I think high schoolers should have a short, 25-minute break in the middle of the day so they can relax, finish homework, and socialize with friends. But this “recess” wouldn’t just benefit the students, it would also benefit the teachers a lot. Recess isn’t just for little kids, teenagers need time to have fun during the day as well.