What should primary and secondary schools do to ensure students’ normal activities for 10 minutes between classes？
Xinhua News Agency, Guiyang, November 8th Question: What should primary and secondary schools do to ensure students’ normal activities for 10 minutes between classes?
Xinhua news agency reporter
Recently, the phenomenon that primary and secondary school students are constrained for 10 minutes between classes in some places has aroused widespread concern. The responsible comrades of the Ministry of Education said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency that the Ministry of Education will further urge local and schools to strictly implement relevant state regulations, follow the laws of education and students’ physical and mental development, and resolutely correct the practice of simply restricting students’ necessary breaks and activities on the grounds of "ensuring students’ safety".
This request has won a lot of applause, but how can it really land? The reporter conducted an investigation on this.
Some primary and middle school students enjoy recess.
With the bell ringing, many students filed out of the classroom in the main campus of Huaxi Primary School in Huaxi District, Guiyang City, Guizhou Province, and came to the playground for free activities. Junior students jump short rope under the guidance of teachers, while senior students play basketball and table tennis. In the No.1 Primary School in Huichuan District, Zunyi City, Guizhou Province, there are also many students who walk out of the classroom and move freely on the playground for 10 minutes.
Similar scenes also exist in some primary and secondary schools in Heilongjiang, Yunnan and Inner Mongolia.
In Wantang Primary School, Pingbian County, Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan Province, when the bell rang, the playground was instantly "activated": girls crossed their legs and danced "weaving baskets", boys teamed up to play three-person basketball, and the children took turns in front of the table tennis table … …
"We require all children to go out of the classroom after class, even girls who are quiet and don’t like to move, and we encourage them to go out for a walk." Yang Qingyi, the school’s brigade counselor, introduced.
In bright primary school, Shuangyashan City, Heilongjiang Province, students came to the playground after class and dispersed according to the designated area, skipping rope, kicking shuttlecock and playing with eagles to catch chickens … … They had a good time, and the cheerful play continued.
At Beiyuan Primary School in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, just after the bell rang, a child surnamed Wang greeted several classmates and went to the playground to play with sandbags.
"Several of us like to throw sandbags, and we will come to the playground after class. Take the time to play for a while." While playing with throwing sandbags, Mr. Wang told reporters that his school didn’t stipulate that you can’t leave the classroom during recess, nor did it stipulate that you must leave the classroom. Some students who like quiet will go to the library corner to read books after class.
Take measures to avoid safety accidents.
According to the reporter’s investigation, the main reasons why some primary and middle school students are constrained in their 10-minute activities during recess are that they are worried about unexpected situations such as bumping when playing during recess, and then suffering unnecessary troubles, and the school space is narrow.
Difficulties are in front of us. How do these schools solve them?
Wang Ka, principal of Huaxi Primary School, said that there are more than 4,500 students in four campuses of the school, including more than 1,900 students in the main campus. In order to avoid accidents such as bumping during students’ recess activities as much as possible, while strengthening students’ safety education, the school also arranged teachers on duty to inspect the playground and corridor to remind students to pay attention to safety.
The third primary school of Baotou Iron and Steel Street set up some games according to students’ preferences to help them divert their attention and avoid them from running, jumping and fighting in disorder during classes. At the same time, the school has also established a system for students to take turns as "safety supervisors" to stimulate and improve their self-management ability. "To achieve 10 minutes of safety management between classes, we must understand students and rely on them." Principal Yan Huaying said.
Yan Huaying also believes that in order to avoid accidents when students play during recess, it is necessary to strengthen safety education and teach them to cherish life and develop good civilized habits. "The fundamental reason for students to have some unsafe behaviors is that they have not developed good civilized habits."
Covering an area of less than 9 mu, Xinying No.2 Primary School in Panlong District, Kunming is a famous "sparrow primary school" with a total of 1,383 students. A playground the size of only two basketball courts is the only sports ground for the school.
The reporter saw in the school that there were not a few students skipping rope on the playground during recess. President Wu Jiebin said that since the school was founded in 1996, successive presidents have attached great importance to sports. The school space is small, so they choose skipping rope as the main sport for students according to local conditions.
Since 2021, this "Sparrow Primary School" located in the downtown area has produced five world skipping champions.
Liang Mu (a pseudonym), vice president of a primary school in Guizhou Province, and others also pointed out that careful and solid daily work such as campus safety risk investigation can also effectively avoid accidents during students’ recess sports.
Create a relaxed and inclusive atmosphere
Relevant research shows that in recent years, the overweight and obesity rate of children and adolescents in China has increased significantly. According to Children’s Blue Book: China Children’s Development Report (2021), the overweight and obesity rate of primary and middle school students in China was 15.5% in 2010, and it rose to 24.2% in 2019, with an increase of 8.7 percentage points in 10 years. The Report on Nutrition and Chronic Diseases of China Residents (2020) shows that the overweight and obesity rates of children and adolescents aged 6-17 and under 6 in China reach 19% and 10.4% respectively.
Qu Wenyong, a professor of sociology at Heilongjiang University, said that at present, the physical fitness level of teenagers in China is not ideal, and the proportion of myopia and obesity is increasing. It is more necessary to carry out physical exercise, and ensuring the normal development of exercise between classes is the most basic requirement.
Wang Zongping, dean of the Institute of Business Studies of Nanjing University of Science and Technology, believes that the setting of 10 minutes between classes is very consistent with the physical and mental development of children and adolescents, and lack of exercise and exercise is the main reason for the frequent mental health problems of children and adolescents.
Respondents said that primary and secondary schools need a relaxed social environment to ensure students’ extracurricular activities. "Take care of your heart. Once something happens to a student, it is unlimited responsibility, and the school is also afraid." Wang Zongping said.
A student’s parents in Inner Mongolia believe that it is normal for students to bump into each other while playing on campus. Parents can’t report the school without asking the reasons, and the education authorities should also hold them accountable on the basis of in-depth investigation and clarification of responsibilities. "Otherwise, the school will only cancel the recess for 10 minutes, and the students will be the most affected in the end."
In May this year, Hangzhou Education Bureau said in reply to the No.146 proposal of the Second Session of the 12th CPPCC in Hangzhou that it would conduct a discussion on the risk of self-indulgence in cultural and sports activities in schools. At the same time, improve the student insurance system, strengthen financial security, achieve 100% comprehensive insurance coverage rate of primary and secondary schools (parks) in the city, and advocate parents to buy comprehensive insurance for students (children) on the premise of adhering to the principle of voluntariness.
"We need to be clear about how to identify the responsibility when students are injured or have an accident during extracurricular sports, alleviate the concerns of the school and parents, and create a relaxed atmosphere." Qu Wenyong said. (Note holder: Zheng Minghong; Participating reporters: Wang Chunyan, Wang Junbao, Yue Ran, Wei Jingyu)