Rachel Roper

“Maslow Before Bloom” An educator at one of my recent trainings on challenging behaviors, trauma and mental health stated that he consistently takes away recess as a consequence, punishment and as a deterrent. Remember that even prisoners get daily time on the yard for movement and physical activity. I personally struggle with the logic in taking away movement/recess. We punish a student for being overly active, lacking focus, not completing work, and as a result disrupting the learning of others by taking away that which would most likely benefit them the most. Wouldn’t a better strategy for reducing these behaviors be to pro-actively “prescribe” more movement and physical activity during the school day (i.e. running, circuit training, yoga, martial arts, etc.)? Health experts recommend a minimum of 60 minutes of exercise per day for a "typical" child age 6 and above. The same experts say that long term sitting is considered as bad for the body as smoking. They also recommend movement breaks every 30 minutes. How many of your students are getting enough exercise and movement at school or at home? How many of them sit too much at school and are in front of a screen the rest of the day at home? I truly believe that we have to focus on interventions and strategies that are logical, effective and most likely to produce positive outcomes for our students. Basic human needs first! Maslow before bloom! Join a community of people who are committed to helping all children to achieve in school and life at the “Maslow Before Bloom”Facebook group: Facebook.com/groups/maslowbe…