Letter: Recess time is needed in schools

Tuesday, March 16, 2004 | 9:40 a.m.

Bully for you, as Teddy Roosevelt would have said it, on your March 10 editorial headlined, "Bring back traditional recess time." Our illustrious president, who cannot complete a sentence without pauses and fill-ins, came up with this "No Child Left Behind Act" that costs school districts federal funding if they don't comply with it. The president is saying, "You pass these tests or we will close you down." Boy, talk about a society structured after George Orwell's "1984"!

Gen. Douglas MacArthur did not realize his academic potential until he was a senior in high school. Had he been structured to focus on a given test, would he have flunked and not been first in his class at West Point? Would he have not been there to lead our victory in the South Pacific, and forge a democracy in Japan?

Also, no recess is a prelude to obesity, a condition that can lead to severe health problems. We cannot tolerate a sedentary school day for our children. The No Child Left Behind Act should instead be, "No Children Left on their Behinds." Get outside for recess.

FRANK NAGY